Magical Mission
by Overlyinspired
Summary: NarutoHP crossover Team Gai is assigned to protect Harry during his third year of school. Probably going to be NejiTen at some point. Please review.
1. We're Going Where?

AN: Right, this is the first multi-chapter fic that I'm uploading. I already have eighty-six pages written……this is from page one to part of twenty-one. Sorry if you don't like long chapters, but I write long things. Really sorry. Neji, bring out the disclaimer!

Neji:………Overlyinspired does not own Naruto. Thank god. T.T

Tsunade slouched over her desk, scowling at the huge stack of paperwork in front of her. If she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that they were using Kage Bunshin, but that was impossible, of course. As the Hokage, her assistant, Shizune, had said, she had a duty to complete _every single paper_ in front of her. Wait, Shizune was her assistant. Technically, Shizune couldn't force her to do anything. But………not obeying Shizune meant never-ending torture. Ugh, half this stuff was a waste of time. She slammed her head down on the desk, muttering curses under her breath. She was still cursing when a flustered chunnin burst it.

"Hokage-sama, there's an old man heading toward the tower! We've tried to stop him, but he uses some strange stick and keeps pushing us away!" Tsunade raised on eyebrow, surprised. Izumo generally wasn't on to exaggerate a situation.

"Continue."

"He says that he wants to talk to you. His name is strange…um…Durdlemore? Ah……Duddledore?" Izumo glared at the floor, trying to remember the man's name. Tsunade, however, had already remembered the name, and blanched.

"Was it………Dumbledore?" She offered.

"Yes, that was it!" He paused and looked at her confusedly. "Do you know him, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, yes I do. Go back to your post, and try to keep Kotetsu's mouth shut about this."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. The man should be here soon." Izumo bowed, then turned and left.

Tsunade slammed her head on the desk again. She could not deal with this right at that very moment. With the current shortage of shinobi already, it was hard enough to deal with their regular missions, much less any extras that Dumbledore could invent. Not that she didn't respect the man, having talked to him as many times as she had, she understood that he was genius, but Albus Dumbledore, being who he was, had large problems. If he wanted shinobi, he would most likely a large number of high ranked shinobi, and that meant extra stress for her and the others around the village.

"Ah, excuse me, Tsunade-san, is this a bad time?" A kind voice asked from the doorway. She immediately sat bolt upright, managing to look as if she had not been two seconds from tearing her own hair out in boredom and frustration.

"Of course not! It's a perfectly good time!" She grinned at Dumbledore and swept the papers behind her desk with one practiced motion. The old man smiled at her, bright blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses, then pulled out the stick that the chunnin had mentioned. He waved it expertly, and a large armchair appeared in front of her desk.

"I apologize. I seem to have frightened two of your shinobi. A pair of chunnin, I believe they were. Young, brown hair, brown eyes. One of them had very spiky hair. He seemed to be intent on following me all the way to your tower. He appeared to have been trained not to let anyone disturb you, judging from his……begging that I please not enter your office and earn him D-rank missions for a month." Dumbledore's raised eyebrows and slight smile earned a laugh from the Hokage.

"Yes, that does sound like something he would say. And yes, if had had been almost anyone but you he would have earned at least a month's worth of D-rank missions. As things stand, I think he'll get out of it."

"That is good, considering you might already have a few ninja tied up if you choose to accept a mission for me." Tsunade eyed him, expecting this to come up eventually.

"Before you begin this, would you like some sake?" Tsunade pulled a bottle out of the largest drawer in her desk. Even Shizune hadn't found that one. She poured some into a cup and offered it to the old man.

"No, thank you. I'm fine. Now, regarding the mission, I have told you about my student, Harry Potter."

"Yes, yes. Killed the Dark Lord, only boy that survived, lightening scar, etc. Go on."

"Yes, well, we have a criminal that has escaped. Sirius Black. He is hunting for Harry, and although our Ministry is providing……guards, I do not think that they will be sufficient to protect Harry during the school year."

"And you wish to hire some of my ninja to keep an eye on the boy."

"Exactly." Dumbledore nodded. "It would be preferable if they were young enough to be considered students at my school, meaning from the ages of eleven to seventeen. Harry happens to be in his third year, thirteen."

"Hm……I believe that I have a team for you that happens to be exactly thirteen." Tsunade dug a folder out of the teetering stack that she had shoved off of the desk. "Here. This is one of our best chunnin teams, and they're only chunnin because they haven't had a chance to take the jounin test yet. Most likely they'll all pass the next test." Dumbledore took the folder from Tsunade and began to flip through it silently.

"They should work very well. Although, to pose as students, they will be forced to learn to do magic with wands, like other witches and wizards."

"I'm sure they'll do just fine. Now, they should be training today. Would you like to go watch?" Tsunade stood, effortlessly stepping over the papers from her desk. Dumbledore stood as well.

"Thank you. I would be most interested to see their abilities, as it were."

"Very good. They should be at the training field just outside the village……" Tsunade muttered, glancing down at the open folder one more time before escorting Dumbledore out the door. "I'll take you there. They'd be likely to attack if startled by a stranger."

"Thank you very much. I highly doubt that my staff would be pleased to hear that I had been killed by three children for sneaking up on them." He smiled again, obviously very pleased that Harry would be well protected.

"My assistants would be very angry as well. I'm sure that this team will be able to complete this mission very well."

Neji ducked Lee's kick, knowing full well that he couldn't hope to actually block it. His teammate put far too much raw power behind his attacks to even consider doing that. He responded with a hastily thrown kunai, not really meant to injure. Sometimes a distraction was all that was needed.

As expected, Lee easily dodged it, but what wasn't expected was the sudden kick headed for Neji's face. His eyes widened for a moment, before he ducked under the kick and lunged to the side. Their female teammate, Tenten, yelped and dodged back as Neji narrowly avoided barreling into her in his rush to escape.

"Hey, watch it, you two!" She yelped. Neji and Lee heard and ignored her, a bit too into their sparring match. "How am I supposed to do target practice with you almost running me over?! Unless………" Tenten grinned and suddenly began throwing a barrage of kunai, shuriken, senbon needles, and any other lethal objects that came to hand at the boys.

Neji and Lee instantly leaped to avoid the weapons, but were forced to almost dive for the ground when she continued her flood. Lee almost instantly dashed for the woods, and Tenten turned to Neji instead. Oh shit. Neji was _not_ the sort of person that you barraged with kunai. He could return them far, far too well. Unfortunately, Neji already had a _ton_ of them heading straight for him. Tenten winced. Neji smirked.

With the ease of long practice, Neji effortlessly fell into the position for his Heavenly Spin technique. Tenten turned and bolted for the trees. SHIT! She had helped Neji master his technique, so why the hell hadn't she seen it coming?! She glanced back, only to turn and run harder as Neji had already begun spinning, his chakra deflecting every single weapon that she had thrown. A kunai rushed by her head, narrowly missing Tenten's left ear.

"Neji?! Are you trying to kill me?!" She glanced back to find that her teammate had stopped spinning and simply stood where he was, in the middle of a crater caused by his chakra.

"Not really. But why on earth would you start to throw kunai at me? You know I can deflect them."

"Ah……not thinking?" She offered, watching as Lee emerged from the forest again, reasonably sure that Tenten was done chucking kunai. Neji sighed and hopped out of the crater, brushing some dirt off of his robes. The whole team whirled when they heard the sounds of faint clapping.

"Very, very good." An old man was standing on the edge of the field, watching the three with piercing blue eyes. The Hokage was standing beside him, nodding approvingly. The three chunnin exchanged looks before bowing to the pair. Neji, having always been their team spokesperson, stepped forward.

"Hello, Hokage-sama." He cast a curious look to the old man, managing to school his pearly eyes back to complete blankness. "May I inquire as to why you and your……guest……are here?" Tsunade smirked. Ever the diplomat, Neji was. It was probably a good thing that Tenten had long since bullied Lee into submission, until he was at the point where he knew when the other two wanted him to stay quiet.

"Dumbledore-san has a mission for you three, if you're interested." Tsunade paused to examine the expressions on the teens' faces. Lee was about to do his famous 'Nice Guy Smile' no doubt, Tenten was grinning, and Neji was……Neji. Very few people could openly read the Hyuuga's inner thoughts if he didn't want them to.

Neji glanced back at his team, guessing that they would be all for another mission. He managed to whip his head back just before Lee grinned, teeth pinging brightly. Once, Neji had accidentally looked directly at Lee when the other boy had been grinning like that. Seeing had been…difficult, to say the least, for the next three days. Behind him, he heard Tenten grab Lee's shoulders and start shaking him, hissing something along the lines of 'If you blind our employer we can't do the mission you idiot!'

"So, will you accept it? We can't give you the details until we have your answer. It's A-Rank at the very least."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama! Team Gai will accept the mission! We will complete it to the best of our youthful ability!" Lee, who had broken free of Tenten's grip, promptly got into his 'Nice Guy Pose' and flashed his brightest smile at Tsunade and Dumbledore. Neji and Tenten winced.

"Good. Then we can go back to my office and discuss this. See you there." With a wicked grin, Tsunade formed the seals for teleportation, grabbed Dumbledore's arm, and vanished in a puff of smoke. Team Gai simply sighed. She was the _Hokage_ for God's sake. She could at least act like she was older than ten.

Tsunade turned to Dumbledore, who appeared to be very amused by something or another.

"I hope that you didn't mind that. Now you will have a chance to see their speed. Although, you will be able to count on the fact that they can go much faster than what they do now."

The man shook his head. "No, no. I didn't mind it at all. Very interesting children. Ah, here they come now." Tsunade looked up to see Team Gai streaking across the rooftops, Lee in the lead. Well, Lee was the fastest. When the teens slowed to a stop in front of them, it seemed that it was actually habit for Lee to step back and Neji to step to the head of the group.

"Come inside then, you three. Dumbledore-san will give you your mission." Tsunade and Dumbledore led the way inside, obediently followed by Team Gai. Once they were all in the office, and Tsunade had shut the door behind them, she swept behind her desk and sat down. "First, to introduce my shinobi. Hyuuga Neji." Neji bowed. "Rock Lee."

"Yosh!" Lee shouted. Tenten whacked him.

"Lee, shut up!"

"And Buki Tenten." The girl bowed, temporarily releasing her death grip on Lee. "Dumbledore-san, you may begin your explanation."

"Thank you, Tsunade-san. I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." He paused to take in the teens' reactions. They appeared to be taking it in stride, or at least, they hadn't vocally declared him insane. "About thirteen years ago, there was a Dark wizard who terrorized our community. He was defeated by a young boy, Harry Potter. It is still unknown how he survived the curse that the wizard cast at him, but he did, with only a scar on his forehead to show it. He currently attends my school, and is under my staff and my protection. Anyway, one of the wizard's greatest followers has escaped and he is searching for Harry, most likely for revenge. I need you to defend Harry throughout the year."

"Dumbledore-sama, how would we do that without being discovered and expected by this criminal?" Tenten asked, absently tugging on a thread that had come loose on the hem of her shirt.

"Ideally, you could pose as transfer students in Harry's year. You would take his classes and such." Neji shifted slightly.

"And what, exactly would that entail?" He asked.

"Hogwarts has four houses. Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Harry's in Gryffindor, so you will be placed in his house as well. To all appearances, you will have undergone the same sorting as all the other students, but it will be rigged so you are placed in his class. You will be in all of his classes and you will actually appear to be real transfer students. You three will have to be outfitted like normal Hogwarts students, wands included." The Hyuuga nodded, and stayed silent. Tsunade decided that it would be a good time in interject.

"You will be leaving in an hour. Go home and pack for a year. Say your goodbyes, etc. See you in an hour." She waved dismissively at Team Gai, and they simply bowed and left. The Hokage turned to Dumbledore. "So, what do you think of them?" The old man nodded thoughtfully at the door.

"I think they will do very well."

Team Gai walked together out of the office, then split up to go to their own homes and pack. Lee raced home and burst loudly in the door, feeling slightly guilty that he couldn't say goodbye to his parents, given that they were both on their own missions. He pranced into his room and stopped, surveying the closet and chest of drawers. He'd need clothes, that was for sure……and he would be gone for about a year, so……Lee pulled the drawers out of his dresser and dumped at least fifteen of his green bodysuits into the bag. Weapons, healing supplies, and anything else that might possibly be useful soon joined them. With one more quick look around for any missed items (i.e. hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste), Lee pulled out a piece of paper to write a note to his parents.

_I have a year-long mission with my team. Miss you._

_YOUTHFULNESS FOREVER! Lee_

A final farewell glance around his house, and Lee slowly walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

After the group had split up, Tenten had hurried home. She needed time to say goodbye to her mom and dad. The kunoichi carefully pushed the door open.

"I'm home!" Her mom poked her head out of the kitchen, smiling at her only child. Tenten's hair had been inherited from her mother, but her eyes had come from her dad. Her mom had green-blue eyes, which the girl sometimes wished had come to her instead of her common brown ones.

"Hi, Tenten! Are you going to be home for dinner tonight? Or do you have training? Or dinner at Neji's house?" Tenten turned a shade of red to rival Hinata's, and began to sputter incoherently before she realized that her mother had asked her a real question.

"Oh…no. I have mission that just came up……I'm……going to be gone for a year……I'm just back to pack and say goodbye."

"A year?!" Tenten's mom immediately stepped out of the kitchen to give her daughter a tight hug. "Oh……I'll miss my little Ten-chan. You pack up and find your father to say goodbye, alright?" Tenten nodded and retreated to her room, knowing that her mother was only going to go into the kitchen and cook furiously to make herself feel better.

The girl's room was simple, although almost everything was pink. Bedspread, walls, desk, everything. Tenten pulled out the large pack that she used on extended missions and stared at it, wondering what to bring. Weapons were her first priority. An outrageous number of scrolls and sharp metallic objects of varying sizes were packed in, and then Tenten threw in her clothes, barely bothering to fold them. What was the point, when they'd get worn and wrinkled soon enough anyway? The only thing that she bothered to fold was a formal yukata that did not look good wrinkled. After a moment's hesitation, she also threw in a picture of her with her mom and dad. She would be gone for a whole year, after all. And besides, if she was supposed to be a student, wouldn't it be more realistic to have a picture of her family?

Once she was completely done packing, the kunoichi pulled the huge pack onto her back and staggered out the door. Her mom had evidently found her dad, and dragged him inside to say goodbye.

"You're leaving for a year, Ten-chan? We'll miss you." He held out his arms, and she hugged him tightly. Tenten had always been close to her parents, and being away for a _year_, well, she'd be really homesick for awhile. After a few minutes of tight hugging, Tenten pulled away.

"I've got to go." Tenten's mother wiped away a few tears.

"Be careful. Watch out for your teammates. Come home safely, okay?"

"I will mom, I promise. Bye." Tenten plastered on a grin and quickly dashed off, pausing once at the corner of her street to wave before quickly turning and heading towards the Hokage's tower.

Neji hadn't been eager to return to the Hyuuga compound, even to pack. Life had gotten better since the chunnin exams, but it still hurt to look at the unmarked foreheads of the main house. He brushed past the guards at the gate, ignoring their sympathetic looks. They were branch house members too, but the whole house knew of Neji's particular vendetta. He slowly walked down the hallway, ignoring the echoing of his almost silent footsteps in the empty hall.

Neji's room was sparsely furnished. A plain bed with all white bedclothes, a small wooden dresser, and the smallest closet that he could live with was all that he had bothered with. A tiny bathroom was attached, as plain as his room. The Hyuuga dug his pack out from under his bed. Why on earth did he keep it there, of all places? The bag was soon full of weapons, those having been packed first; medical supplies, he needed them because no one in his team was a medic; and anything and everything that he would need. He slung the bulging bag across his back and carefully shut the door to the room behind him. Now all he had to do was to inform Hiashi-sama of his latest assignment, and he could leave.

The Hyuuga meeting room was where Hiashi spent most of his day. Neji paused outside the door, hearing voices inside. It was Hinata-sama. Neji waited for a few minutes, and then Hinata appeared, staring at Neji with wide eyes. Apparently she didn't realize that he had been standing there.

"Ah……N……Neji-n…niisan……y…you…h…have…a……mission?" He nodded.

"I'll be gone for a year." Hinata's eyes went wide.

"A……year?! Ah……N…Neji-niisan……you……h…have…to….talk……to…f… father……right?"

"Yes."

"Could you w…wait here……when…you're…done? I have… something …t…to…um…give you." Neji nodded again and watched Hinata skitter down the hallway before turning and entering the meeting room. He stopped in front of Hiashi and bowed deeply, hair brushing the floor.

"Neji, stand up. What mission do you have now?"

"I have a year-long guard mission." Neji said blandly.

"Year-long?"

"Yes, Hiashi-sama."

"Fine, fine. Good luck, be careful, etc." He waved dismissively, and Neji simply bowed and left. He stopped outside the room as Hinata said, not wanting to make her upset. Hiashi had a tendency to get upset himself if a branch member didn't obey a main family member.

"N……Neji-niisan!" Hinata jogged up, a small pouch held tightly against her chest. "I…um…well…it was m…meant to be your……C…Christmas present." She held it out to him, expecting him to take it. When he hesitantly took it, Hinata smiled timidly. "O…open it!"

Neji examined the pouch before opening it. It was obviously a kunai holster, and a very well made one, to say the least. Hinata was still looking expectantly at him, so he opened the pouch. He blinked. A new set of kunai gleamed, the faint light reflecting off of the cold metal. He glanced up at Hinata, who was blushing and staring at her feet, obviously expecting Neji to reject the gift.

"Thank you, Hinata-sama." She looked up, eyes wide.

"Ah……um…look at them…m…more…closely…" Neji hesitantly pulled a kunai from the pouch and looked it over.

The blade itself was razor sharp, as he discovered when he tapped the tip experimentally. Wondering what Hinata was talking about, his ran his fingers over the handle and the flat of the blade. To his surprise, right at the base of the blade, there was a faint engraving. He inspected his kunai even more closely, and found to his surprise that a pair of sparrows was intricately carved into the metal.

"Thank you, Hinata-sama," he repeated, honestly grateful. He had been running low on kunai, and these appeared to be of the highest quality that money could buy. "How did you know that I needed kunai?" Lee and Tenten would never have been able to hide the fact that they had told her.

Hinata looked down. "Um…I…d…didn't. But…I…figured that…every s…shinobi…c…can…use…k…kunai. So…um…when…m…my…t…team…had…a… mission…a…at…the…w…w…weaponry…village…I…h…had…those…made."

Neji simply nodded and closed the pouch. That made sense. Hopefully he wouldn't be forced to actually use the kunai while on his mission, but it was more than likely.

"Thank you again, Hinata-sama, but I have to meet my team now." He bowed and turned to leave.

"B……Be…careful, N…Neji-niisan! C…come…h…home…s…safely!" Neji lifted his hand in a kind of half wave and kept walking. He had to meet his team to leave. And once he was at the Hokage's office, he could switch his kunai pouches. He liked Hinata's much better.

Team Gai was fully reassembled in Tsunade's office by the time that the hour was up. Dumbledore appeared to have stayed there the whole time, judging from the empty bottle of sake on the Hokage's desk and the large armchair that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The old man stood as they entered the room.

"Are you all packed?" The team nodded, although Neji, much to his teammates' confusion, was switching his kunai pouch for a new one. As far as they knew, he didn't even _have_ another one. "Good. We will be off then. Goodbye, Tsunade-san." The Hokage nodded and leaned back in her chair.

"So you don't mind if I send a shinobi for a report during your Christmas break?"

"No, no. That will be fine." Dumbledore rummaged through one of the large pockets of his cloak and eventually pulled out a wrapper from a candy bar. "Hm…about two minutes left…you three, bring your packs and come over. Make sure that you're touching the wrapper. It would be quite inconvenient if I had to create another Portkey." Team Gai exchanged a look, wondering what the hell a Portkey was, but obeyed, carefully reaching out and resting their hands on the wrapper. Dumbledore continued to stare at his watch. "Five……four……three……two……one…," The three ninja were just starting to exchange strange looks when they each felt an almost painful jerk below their navels, something that felt like having a hook stuck into them and pulled. Unfortunately, because of a mission gone wrong in the past, all of them could honestly say that the sharp tug would hurt like hell if it didn't stop soon.

After what seemed like an eternity, the four landed, some more gracefully than others. Tenten and Lee found themselves on the ground, staring up at a grey sky. Neji somehow managed to stay on his feet, much to the other two's jealousy. How the hell did he manage to do that? Although, the Hyuuga's face was looking slightly green. Dumbledore looked completely unaffected. That was really not fair under any circumstances.

"I apologize. I had forgotten that the effects of a Portkey can be slightly…disorienting if you have not felt them before."

"It's fine," Tenten replied, taking Neji's offered hand and pulling herself up. Lee bent himself backwards and flipped to his feet, grinning insanely.

Now that all three of them were on their feet, the ninja proceeded to examine the area. There was a lake nearby, and a forest behind that. Big forest. Very big ominous forest. They liked it.

"And that," Dumbledore announced, sweeping his arm in the opposite direction of the lake, "is Hogwarts."

AN: Review. I command you! 0


	2. Arrival

AN: This is Chapter two! It's only up so fast (aka same day) because I have past here written………my updates will slow down once I get past what's prewritten. Btw, if anyone's wondering, I made up Tenten's surname. It means 'weapon'. Lee, Disclaimer, please!

Lee: YOSH! OVERLYINSPIRED DOES NOT OWN NARUTO, THOUGH SHE IS FILLED WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!

English---- "English"

Ninja Language-------"_English_"

"Wow." Tenten gasped. That castle was _huge_! Really huge!

"And how large are the grounds?" Neji asked, staring at the spectacle. It was bigger than any building that he had ever seen, but the mission came before acting like a tourist.

"You'll have time to go over the grounds later, I promise. You still need to meet the staff and all of the staff members except for one are currently here." And with that, the old man set off toward the castle. The team followed obediently.

Inside the castle was almost as awe-inspiring as the initial view. If one looked up, one could see at least ten white marble staircases connecting doors and such. And they were moving. Dumbledore walked up them with no fear whatsoever, although the ninja with him were very cautious, scowling at the stairs with every step they took.

"Um……Dumbledore-sama, do _all_ the stairs do this?" Tenten asked weakly, looking slightly nauseous at the sight of all the moving staircases.

"Of course. You need not worry, however. You certainly are not required to guard my students from the stairs." There was a slight glimmer in the old man's bright eyes as he said this, earning him a sheepish grin from Lee and Tenten, and a faint glare from Neji.

As they walked down the halls, Neji kept seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look, all he could see were portraits. Eventually, Lee and Tenten noticed his odd behavior, and both gave him odd looks. He gave them each a mild glare before turning and activating his Byakugan. Each of the portraits glowed with chakra. It was different from his own or anything else that he had ever seen. Dumbledore turned to regard him.

"Ah, you noticed our moving portraits?"

"Moving?" Tenten asked nervously.

"Yes. They are enchanted to move and can move through any portrait adjacent to them."

"REALLY?! THAT IS VERY YOUTHFUL!" Lee shouted. The portraits around them winced.

"Lee, shut up." Tenten whacked him, and he shut up.

Eventually, Dumbledore stopped in front of a large gargoyle. The team gave him a strange look, but he ignored them, leaning forward as if to speak to the statue.

"Lemon Drops." The man said clearly. At these words, Neji activated his Byakugan to examine the statue. Chakra flowed through it; although it appeared to be slightly different from his or his teammates' chakra…it was even different from Naruto's demon chakra. His inspection was abruptly cut off when the statue jumped aside, revealing a narrow staircase that curved around a pillar upward.

Dumbledore set off up the stairs, followed by Team Gai, who were each distinctly nervous about all these moving inanimate objects. The stairs eventually opened into a large office. It was a round room with many shelves, cases, and tables, each bearing some odd object or another. Lee, being Lee, could hardly resist the temptation to run over and examine every one of the strange things, but his teammates both kept steady gazes on him, clearly warning against doing anything stupid. Even more tempting to Lee, and as a matter of fact, Neji was a gold and red bird that appeared to be sleeping on a perch by the man's desk.

"Now," Dumbledore settled behind his desk, "there are a few other issues to discuss before you meet the staff. Firstly, although I have been speaking your language, the rest of my world does not. I myself only learned through much time spent with your former Hokage."

"So what are we going to do?" Tenten asked, wondering how they were supposed to learn a whole new language in the short amount of time they had.

"It's simple really. I'll cast a charm on a few…accessories…and if you wear them, you will be able to speak our language, that is, English." He courteously ignored the nervous glance that the teens exchanged before Neji nodded.

"Yes, Dumbledore-sama." At the team's agreement, Dumbledore drew his wand.

(From now on, English will be like this:

"English"

The ninja's language will be like this:

"_English_")

"_If I need to, I can supply the items, but before I do, it would be easier if you had your own personal items. It makes you less likely to lose them._" Lee immediately grinned and pulled a weight out of one of his orange leg warmers.

"_This is a present from Gai-sensei! I always wear it!_" Neji and Tenten leaned over to inspect the weight themselves. It looked about the same as all of Lee's other weights, except it was engraved with something that Neji hesitantly read aloud.

"_Lee, never let your youthful fire die. Your youthful master, Maito Gai._" The Hyuuga shuddered. Tenten rested one hand on Neji's shoulder and attempted to control her giggles. Lee handed the weight over to Dumbledore, who tapped it once with his wand and handed it back to the boy. The weight was quickly put back in its slot, and Lee started chattering. Again. Except this time, Neji and Tenten couldn't understand him.

"_Ah, I forgot to mention, now you have to consciously want to speak in your own language._" The old man added. Lee blinked, considered, and started chattering.

"_YOSH! IT WORKED!_" Tenten promptly whacked Lee on the back of the head, and he shut up. The kunoichi then carefully reached under the bandages that wrapped around her legs and pulled out a silver anklet. At this, Neji blinked. That had been his Christmas present to her the previous year. He had thought that she wouldn't wear it, and had wondered if he should have just gotten her more weapons, but had indeed just seen that she _did_ wear it. That made him feel better.

"_Here. I won't lose this._" Tenten said quietly, handing the thin chain to Dumbledore. She pointedly ignored Neji's eyes as she said this, and seemed to be turning a light shade of red. The old man gave her an understanding smile and tapped it once with his wand before handing it back to her. She grinned sheepishly and clipped the jewelry around her ankle again.

Neji tensed as his teammates and the old man looked at him expectantly. Yes, he did have something that he kept on him at all times. And no, he did not want anyone to touch it. Damn it……sometimes he hated being a shinobi. He reached one hand into his pack and pulled out his old kunai pouch. The other three watched as Neji drew a kunai and carefully cut out a small row of stitches along the side that Tenten and Lee had never noticed before. After a few minutes of the exacting process, a Konoha headband fell into his waiting hand.

"_Here, Dumbledore-sama._" He handed it to the old man, looking down at the floor. He took it back silently, refusing to meet any of their gazes.

"Good. Now that the language barrier is overcome, there is the slight matter of your classes. In third year, there are certain classes that you are required to take, but students are allowed to select from a few others as well." He pulled out three pieces of paper and placed them on the desk. "These are the schedules of Harry and his two closest friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." The ninja leaned forward to look them over. Neji, as was his habit, began muttering important details just loud enough for his team to hear.

"All three have Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Astronomy, Transfiguration, Divination, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and History of Magic together. The girl…Hermione…, has Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy on her own. It's probably best to have two with Harry and Ron…while someone else goes with the girl to keep ourselves from being totally focused in one place………" The old wizard nodded approvingly at the boy's logic. Tenten and Lee nodded as well.

"What if Lee and I go with Harry and Ron? You're better on your own than Lee or I are. And…frankly, Neji,…I don't think you should do any major interaction with Harry unless you want him to distrust all of us." She grinned sheepishly at his mild glare. "It's something about the 'Touch me and Die' aura you exclude." Neji sighed and nodded, accepting this as the truth.

"YOSH, YOUR YOUTHFUL SPIRIT IS AMAZING, NEJI!" And with that, Lee grinned. Brightly. Enough to blind his friends.

"Now…there is the question of which class I'll be taking with Hermione…" Neji mused to himself, running his fingers over the battered headband.

"I would recommend Arithmancy. Prediction of the future with numbers. It might appeal to you if you like simple logic. Actually…there is something that you should know about Hermione."

"What is it, Dumbledore-sama?" Tenten asked, leaning over Neji's shoulder to read over the schedules again.

"We are giving her a Time Turner."

"Yosh, Dumbledore-sama! What device is this?!" Lee half-asked, half-cheered. Tenten hit him again.

"Shut up so he can have a chance to explain!"

"A Time Turner is a device to, as the name suggests, turn back time. Miss Granger needs it to get to all of her classes. Divination and Arithmancy, and a number of her other classes as well, are at the same time. So, in essence, she is in two or more places at once." Neji nodded, staring into space.

"So, unless I can be in two places at once, Divination and Arithmancy are impossible to attend together? I could try a Bunshin……"

"And what exactly is a Bunshin?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Oh. It's a clone." Neji stood and quickly formed the seals. There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, there were two Nejis. Tenten walked over and poked one really hard. It glared at her before disappearing.

"There's one of the disadvantages of a Bunshin." Tenten sighed. "Any decent hit can make it disappear. And it takes continuous chakra to keep going. So it's probably not a good idea to use a Bunshin in a school full of kids that are going to end up bumping into it."

"YOSH! I agree with your youthful statement, Tenten!" Lee proclaimed loudly.

"It relatively simple then. I won't take Divination." Neji sighed.

"Good. Well, now that we have the classes done, you can meet my staff." The man rose and began to lead them out of the room when the large bird suddenly started to sing. The four turned back to the bird. Dumbledore was smiling gently.

"Dumbledore-sama, what kind of bird is that?" Tenten asked. The homesickness that had been starting to clench around her heart had suddenly eased. The same tears that Lee always got when he was extremely happy were welling up in his eyes. Neji had the same stoic look as always, but his eyes were softer…gentler.

"That is a phoenix. His name is Fawkes. They're very intelligent, very loyal, and the phoenix song is known to heal heartbreak. Their tears can heal wounds, and their feathers can be used in wands." He shot a slightly pointed look at Neji, who was staring openly at the bird by that point. The boy promptly put up his 'I don't care about anything' look.

"So, Dumbledore-sama, how many teachers do you have?" Lee asked happily, almost bouncing in place. He had apparently gotten over the beauty of the phoenix song.

"Quite a few. Harry, obviously, does not have them all, but you should have the chance to see them at least once before the school year begins." The old man waved to tell them to follow him out of the office. The team followed reluctantly, looking quite willing to stand there for hours listening to Fawkes.

Dumbledore lead them past the gargoyle, which promptly jumped back into place. The staff lounge was back down on the first floor, so they had to walk down more of the moving stairs. After the first flight, Dumbledore looked over at them.

"If you wish, feel free to skip the rest of the stairs and jump. I know you can."

"Thank you, Dumbledore-sama!" Tenten cheered, stepping onto the railing. Lee and Neji followed quickly, and then they all leapt off into the open space. The old man leaned over the rail to watch them. They really were remarkable children.

Lee and Tenten laughed as they jumped from level to level. Neji was smiling too. The strangeness of this new world was so……stressful. Doing this long jumping was so like being home again that it soothed them all. They stopped once they had reached the Grand Hall. Dumbledore reached them soon enough.

"That's much easier than walking down all of the stairs, isn't it?" He asked cheerfully. "This way. The staff room is over there." He led them over to a room that had a gargoyle on either side of the door. The statues leered down at them, and began to speak.

"Oo…student's aren't allowed into the teacher's lounge. What would you kids be doing?" One of them cackled.

"That is enough." Dumbledore told them sternly. "These students are to be an exception to that rule."

"Yes, Dumbledore." The statues chorused. They shot Team Gai baleful looks as they walked by, which showed that all was not, in fact, forgiven.

There were twelve people sitting around a table. All of them were throwing suspicious looks at the teens following Dumbledore. Neji death glared them all immediately. Tenten gave a timid wave. Lee……was Lee, and gave them one of his blinding grins. The teachers winced away from the blinding light that was reflecting off of Lee's teeth. Neji and Tenten had wisely turned away, and Tenten hit him without looking.

"_Lee! You can't make them go blind! We're going to have to work with them!"_

_"I'm sorry, Tenten!"_ Lee winced and rubbed at the back of his head.

"_You should be!"_

_"Lee, Tenten, try and look professional."_ Neji, of course, had stayed out of the entire arguement and had taken the time to inspect each and every teacher.

"_Sorry, Neji_." They chorused. Whatever happened, they didn't want to get Neji mad. Dumbledore had ignored the whole exchange, and began his small speech to the teachers.

"These are the guards that I have hired to protect Harry and the school. I have been assured that they are quite capable." A stern middle-aged woman broke in.

"Albus, these are children!" Of course, Neji took offence at this.

"Excuse me, but in our village, we are considered fully qualified adults." And with that, he shot her a death glare. Tenten sniggered quietly. Neji was being very touchy, although, his temper had gotten Naruto to shut up before, so maybe the teachers would stop doubting them too. Wishful thinking.

"Ah, but being considered an adult is no measure of strength." A pale man with dark hair and robes smirked at them from the corner.

"Oh, but I feel that they are quite qualified, Severus." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Although, if you insist, I am sure that our guards would not mind giving us a demonstration outside. And after that, they will be free to answer any questions that you may have. So, let us all move outside."

"_YOSH! A CHANCE TO SHOW OUR YOUTHFUL SKILLS!_" Lee cheered, already out the door and halfway down the front stairs. The teachers stared as Neji and Tenten simply smirked at them and bolted after Lee.

"_Wasn't this enough of a demonstration?"_ Tenten asked Neji as they watched the teachers slowly walk onto the lawn. Lee, of course, was obliviously bouncing up and down with excitement. He loved to show off his 'youthful skills'.

"_It should be._" The Hyuuga replied with a scowl. Once the adults had all assembled, Lee stopped bouncing and Neji stepped forward. "If you wish, all of you may cast as many spells as you want to at any of us for the next two minutes." He stepped back. "And...begin!"

Immediately, wands were drawn, and spells were fired, all non-verbal. Team Gai exchanged incredulous looks before easily dodging. Only once was any of them hit, and Tenten recovered in mid-air to land on her feet. Once the two minutes were up, Neji turned back to the teachers again.

"I trust that was enough of a demonstration?" There was an unspoken threat in his voice, and Lee and Tenten pitied the idiot who ignored it.

"Speed is not enough to win a fight. How do we know that you will be able to defeat Black, or any other threats, should they appear?" The pale man gave the team a death glare and a smirk, which Neji returned. Lee was being oblivious, as usual, so Tenten decided that it was her job to smooth the waters.

"Um...maybe the teachers...would care to watch us spar with each other." She offered.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, doesn't it, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked the stern-looking woman cheefully. "What do you think, Severus?"

"Whatever you say, Headmaster." He replied.

"Alright then! Which two of you first?"

"YOSH! I WOULD BE GLAD TO SPAR WITH MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee yelled. Neji winced.

"Lee, it might be a better demonstration if I spar with Tenten." He said. Lee's face fell.

"Just so that he can demonstrate his Kaiten, and I can show my scrolls! He can spar with you right after that!" Tenten said quickly. Lee perked up again.

"FOR THE GOOD OF THE MISSION, I AGREE!" He struck his famous 'Nice-Guy Pose'. Tenten whacked him with a muttered threat.

"Lee, shut up!" He backed up to stand with the teachers while Tenten walked slightly farther away with Neji. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"_Let's make this good._" Tenten and Neji began circling each other.

"_Start with some basics, then get more advanced.._" Neji easily dodged a kunai that Tenten tossed. It wasn't one of her harder throws. Not yet. He tossed one in return, slightly faster than hers. It told her to speed it up. She nodded, then began barraging her teammate, a seemingly endless flow of kunai raining down on him. Neji smirked at her, and danced out of the way, wondering when she was going to really get going.

Well, he decided, if she won't, I will. And he charged forward. Tenten yelped and flipped back, narrowly avoiding his outstretched hands. If he got his hands on her, their spar was over. Neji smirked faintly and pulled back, obviously waiting for her to pull out her scrolls. If that was what he wanted, Tenten would do it. She pulled two scrolls out of her pouch and placed them on the ground on either side of her, then quickly made a number of hand signs. When she was done, a pair of dragons rose out and began twining together, rising higher and higher. She grinned at Neji, then leapt up into the center of the dragons, which had turned back into scrolls with a number of characters written on them. She began twirling, faster and faster, until you couldn't even see her in the scrolls, and weapons of all shapes started to fly out of the ball.

Neji took a deep breath, then took the familiar half-slouching position. As the weapons drew closer, he simply waited, and then he began to spin as well. Chakra radiated from his hands, as he continued to spin faster and faster. Quickly, Neji was just a blur, and every single one of Tenten's weapons deflected off of the chakra. When Tenten stopped, gently landing on the ground, Neji stopped spinning. He had left a crater in the earth. While his female teammate attempted to recover from her large use of chakra, Neji attacked. He activated his Byakugan, and managed to hit every single chakra point on her arm with quick, precise jabs. Tenten quickly held up her hands in surrender. No need to cause herself more pain. As Neji stepped back and turned to the teachers, Tenten inspected her arms.

"_Neji, you didn't need to hit quite so hard," _ She winced and futilely tried to push chakra through her arms. He, being Neji, ignored her.

"Lee, it's your turn." He told the other boy, who raced to Neji's side. "Tenten, are you alright?"

"Neji, you hit too hard." She held up her arms for him to see. Small, dark bruises were forming where he had hit her.

"I'll repair your chakra flow as soon as I finish with Lee," Neji promised. The teachers were all staring unashamedly, except for Dumbledore, who was clapping quietly.

"_Lee, are you ready?"_ Neji asked, taking up a defensive stance.

"_Of course! I am always ready to display the POWER OF YOUTH!"_

_"Go."_ Neji leapt out of the way as Lee slammed his foot down right where Neji would have been. It left a hole in the ground almost as deep as Neji's crater. The Hyuuga ducked out of the way as Lee started another rain of kicks and punches, all of which probably would have broken a few bones if they had made contact.

"_Neji, you are not on the offensive." _ Lee commented, still attacking.

"_I used a lot of my chakra in the display with Tenten. Kaiten takes more than it should._" Even as he spoke, Neji lunged forward beginning to target Lee's arms as easily as he had targeted Tenten's.

"_Ah. I understand now._" Lee jumped back and swung his leg at Neji's head. He pulled back just in time for Neji to duck, and slammed his foot down instead. It made solid contact on Neji's shoulder.

"_Lee!" _ He growled through gritted teeth, "_I can't move my arm!_"

"_I am sorry, Neji_." Lee apologized, managing to dodge a hastily thrown kunai from his teammate. _"I misjudged the speed at which my foot would hit._"

Neji pulled back his one good arm and charged it with all the chakra he could before swinging it forward. It grazed both of Lee's shoulders, but that was what he wanted. His chakra immediately attacked Lee's chakra system, shutting down the flow to his arms. Lee tried to lift his arms, realized that it was futile, and sighed.

"Neji, I yield. Is your arm alright?" Lee stepped foward and rested on hand on the shoulder that he had hit. "It feels swollen."

"I think that it'll be fine." The Hyuuga attempted to rotate it. "It's just dislocated." Tenten, ignoring the adults, ran to her teammates.

"Are you two okay?!"

"Neji has dislocated his shoulder." Lee said seriously.

"Neji! Not again!" Tenten groaned. Dumbledore walked down to join them.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"I dislocated my shoulder." Neji said.

"Ah, that should be no problem for Madam Pomfrey. She runs the Hospital Wing. Poppy?" He called. The witch that came running was middle-aged, plump, and slightly frazzled.

"Yes, Albus?"

"This young man has a dislocated shoulder." He gestured to Neji, who scowled.

"That's simple enough." She drew her wand and tapped Neji on the shoulder, muttering something under her breath. He hissed in pain as the limb popped itself into place, but when he rotated it carefully, it moved without much pain.

"Thank you." He bowed slightly to her, and then turned to Dumbledore. "Was that demonstration adequate?"

"More than adequate, I think." He turned to his staff. "What do you think?" Team Gai looked over at the awestruck adults. Tenten started snickering until she tried to raise her hand to stifle herself and realized that she couldn't.

"Ah, Neji? Now would be a good time to fix my arms." She held her arms up again.

"Sorry." He activated his Byakugan and pulled her toward him. Carefully sending chakra to his fingers, he began to gently prod the damaged chakra network. His chakra wound around the small chakra veins and healed them, undoing what he had done during their spar. "Lee, come here." Neji released Tenten and pulled Lee toward him instead, beginning to run his fingers over his friend's shoulders. The chakra network healed quickly, having been through the same process many times before.

"So, does anyone have questions for us?" Tenten asked. The stern looking woman looked up.

"Yes. What exactly is that type of magic that you use?"

"Oh. That's not magic. That's chakra. We have a chakra network that carries chakra like blood through our bodies, and we can use it from any of our chakra points."

"That is what I attack." Neji said. "I target the chakra system so that my opponent can no longer use chakra, and often, it reduces them to the point that they can no longer fight."

"And, um...not to be rude, but...who are you people? Can someone give me names?" Tenten asked sheepishly. Dumbledore nodded.

"Of course. I had forgotten. Professor McGonagall, our Transfiguration teacher; Professor Snape, our Potions master; Professor Sprout, Herbology; Professor Flitwick, Charms;..." Dumbledore continued until he had named every one of the adults in front of them. "Although, we seem to be missing four of our staff members. Professor Binns, who teaches History of Magic, Professor Trelawny, she teaches Divination, Professor Lupin, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Rubeus Hagrid, our gamekeeper and the new Care of Magical Creatures instructor. Minerva, would you be so kind as to find Sibyll and Professor Binns, please?" Professor McGonagall nodded and walked off.

She soon returned with a small woman who had huge glasses that magnified her eyes to probably five times their normal size, and a floating, translucent, pearly-colored man. Dumbledore introduced them both. Neji immediately activated his Byakugan to examine Professor Binns. He was a moving being of chakra, like the demons, only, benign instead of bent on the destruction of mankind. He told this to his teammates in a whisper in their own language, ignoring the other teachers who were still watching.

"Hagrid should be down at his cabin, and you will meet Professor Lupin shortly. Staff, thank you for joining us." The old man nodded to them and began to walk down the hill toward a log cabin. Team Gai exchanged another look, but quickly followed. They didn't want to be left alone with the teachers under any circumstances. Especially Snape. Dumbledore was exceptionally fast for being so old, and Team Gai was more than happy to keep pace with him, so they arrived at the cabin very quickly. Dumbledore knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal a huge man. He was, in Neji's judgement, twice the size of a normal man. Dumbledore didn't even reach his shoulder, and the Headmaster was no shrimp.

" 'Lo, Professor. Wha' brings you here?" The man asked. Neji and Tenten winced at the sheer volume of his voice. Lee, of course, could be just as loud on occasion, so he didn't mind at all.

"I wanted to introduce you to the guards that I have hired to protect Harry and our school." Dumbledore said simply, gesturing to Team Gai. Hagrid looked down at them.

"Yer just kids!" He exclaimed. Neji scowled, and Tenten moved one hand to his arm to restrain him. Lee frowned slightly. He had actually been listening this time.

"Um...pardon me, but where we come from, we are considered fully qualified adults." Tenten pointed to her Konoha headband. "And this is our proof."

"Oh. Well, sorry 'bout that. Didn't know. So, you three are gonna be lookin' after Harry?" Neji, who had retreated into his 'ice cube' guise, nodded.

"Yes. Our mission is to protect Harry Potter and this school from any and all threats, especially Sirius Black, at all costs." Lee leapt into air again, excited.

"YOSH! WE WILL USE OUR YOUTHFUL POWERS TO PROTECT THIS SCHOOL!" Tenten whacked him hard. He winced and whispered an apology. Hagrid gave him an odd look, then turned to Dumbledore.

"So, while yer down here, would you be intrested in seeing the Thestrals?"

"Ah, yes. Some of them were sick, weren't they?" He looked over at Team Gai. "Come along. You'll find this interesting yourselves." The teens followed carefully. Dumbledore and Hagrid led them down into the forest and a little ways down a path. They stopped at a large paddock, part of which was hidden by the trees. Hagrid threw back his head and gave a loud screeching cry. Tenten scooted closer to Lee and Neji. It sounded like some kind of angry bird monster. A few minutes later, when nothing had appeared, Hagrid gave the cry again. This time, a pair of somethings began picking their way out of the trees. The things had glowing yellow eyes, and dragonlike heads. They were pure black all over and appeared to be related to horses somehow. They unfurled bat-like wings and snorted at Team Gai before wandering over to Hagrid.

"These are Thestrals." Hagrid said proudly. "Can you see them?" Team Gai all nodded.

"That's very interesting," Dumbledore muttered. When the teens gave him odd looks, he decided to clarify. "The only people that can see Thestals are those that can see death. You have all seen someone die."

"We've all killed people," Tenten said. "And we've all seen friends be killed. For a shinobi, death is normal." She shrugged.

"Yes," Lee continued, "We are trained to kill."

"And kill without any remorse." Neji interjected. "We must be able to kill and move on." Hagrid frowned at them.

"Yer trained to kill people?"

"Yes. We're trained to go undercover, guard, escort, assasinate, hunt down, find things...mostly anything that anyone will pay us for." The kunoichi sighed. "Not to say that we always like to kill."

"Believe me, sometimes, we do." Neji scowled. Kidomaru was lurking in the back of his mind. Damn that spider freak. He had two huge scars, one on his left shoulder, front and back, and on the front and back of his abdomen from when he had been impaled by Kidomaru's arrows.

"But not always." Lee finished.

"Well, Hagrid, the Thestrals appear to be in good health. They'll be ready for the beginning of term?"

"They should be, Headmaster."

"Very good. I will talk to you regarding your lessons for the year later." He nodded to Hagrid and turned to start to walk away. "Come along, we need to get you to Diagon Alley so you can get your supplies and meet Professor Lupin." Tenten and Lee waved to Hagrid as they left. Neji, of course, did no such thing. Dumbledore led them to a large iron gate, and stopped just inside it. "Now, a few last minute details before you leave on the train. You will be staying at the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley. You are pretending to be foreign exchange students from Japan. Here are your supply lists." He waved his wand, and three scrolls appeared, falling into each of the teens' hands. " And here is the money you'll need. Our money is Galleons, the gold ones, Sickles, the silver coins, and Knuts, the bronze coins." He held out a back of coins, which Neji hesitantly took from him and placed in his pouch, "Professor Lupin will be meeting you at the train station in London. He has a...condition...that you should know about." Neji raised one eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"I'll leave it up to him to explain. He is slightly sensitive about it, so please be kind to him." Team Gai nodded again. "At the beginning of term, you will get on the train wth Professor Lupin. You will also be Sorted like a first-year would be, however, the Sorting Hat will be told ahead of time that you must be sorted into Gryffindor with Harry and his closest friends. If you're looking for Harry in Diagon Alley, remember that he has black hair, glasses, green eyes, and a lightening bolt scar on his forehead. The train is waiting for you just around the hill. Also, the Ministry of Magic has provided the school with guards. Dementors, I don't suppose that you've heard of them? No, of course not. Well, please watch out for them once the term starts. Ask Professor Lupin. Good-bye, and I'll see you on September first."

"Yes, Dumbledore-sama." Team Gai bowed and walked down the hill. The mission officially started here. They were on their own.

AN: Another long chapter……sorry, but it's hard to find a place to break off. Review!


	3. Diagon Alley

A/N: I'm sorry that this took so long! TT.TT I had to go to Chicago for a comic show, and then when I got back, the computer with this story on it didn't have Internet, so I had to print this whole thing off and retype it and OW MY FINGERS HURT! Anywho...it's Tenten's turn for the disclaimer.

Tenten: Overlyinspired does not own Naruto, but that's probably a good thing...

The train platform was just behind the hill, just as Dumbledore had told them. It was scarlet, with gold writing. _The Hogwarts Express._ Made sense, considering what it was used for. A middle-aged man with a white moustache was standing beside the train. He looked up at their approach.

"Are you the kids Dumbledore's sending to London?" They nodded. "Are you all of them?" The team nodded again. "On you go, then." He gestured to the doors. "I'm John, the conductor."

"I'm Tenten, this is Lee, and that's Neji."

"Foreigners, huh? No matter." He ushered them onto the train and intoa compartment. "Settle in, this trip will take a few hours."

"Thank you," Tenten said. The man nodded and left. Team Gai carefully removed their packs and placed them at their feet, ignoring the overhead racks. Best to hove your weapons close by.

"So, Neji, whose headband was the one that Dumbedore-sama put the spell on?" Lee asked. He was sitting across from Neji adn Tenten. The Hyuuga looked down.

"My father's," He muttered. Tenten hesitantly rested one hand on Neji's arm.

"You keep it with you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I picked this up earlier. It's new, isn't it?" Tenten handed Neji the kunai that he had thrown at her during their earlier match.

"Yes. It's my Christmas present from Hinata-sama. She wanted to give it to me before I left." He gave it a quick inspection for any damage before putting it back in his kunai pouch.

"You didn't get anything for her, did you?" Tenten asked. Neji shook his head.

"We're going to someplace that we can buy things, right?" Lee asked.

"Yes." Neji said.

"You can get something for her there." Lee said cheerfully.

"I will." Neji turned to look out the window.

"Um, since you cut that headband out of your old pouch, do you want to stitch it into your new one?" Tenten asked. "I think that I brought a sewing kit with me." She began to rummage through her pack. "Here it is!" The girl pulled the small box out and handed it to Neji.

"Thank you." Neji took it with a nod of thanks and pulled out a needle and some black thread. Lee and Tenten could only watch with awe as their teammate managed to quickly and neatly stitch the headband into the inside of his new pouch. Tenten knew better than to comment, but Lee had almost no inhibitions about anything.

"Neji, I had no idea you had such youthful sewing skills! That's amazing!"

"...I've been doing it for years. It's nothing." He packed the sewing kit up again and handed it back to Tenten. "Thank you again."

"You're welcome." Suddenly, they heard loud snoring. Lee had slumped over and fallen asleep. "That's just like him, isn't it?"

"It is him," Neji smirked faintly. "By the way, I didn't think that you would wear the anklet that I gave you." Tenten blushed bright red, almost enough to rival Hinata.

"It's pretty, so I wear it under my sandals."

"Glad you think so." Tenten blushed even brighter.

"Yeah...we don't have to do aything for the rest of the trip, do we?"

"No."

"Good. I'm going to sleep, then." She leaned against Neji's arm and closed her eyes. "Good night. Wake me up when we get there." Within moments, her breathing had evened out. Tenten was asleep. Neji sighed.

"Well, I don't have anything else to do." He leaned against the window, and was soon asleep himself.

By the time the train screeched to a stop, it had started to pour. Team Gai all jerked awake at the sudden noise. They picked up their packs and walked out the door. John was waiting for them.

"Good-bye. I'll see you three on the way to the school."

"Bye!" Lee cheered.

"Good-bye." Tenten replied politely.

"Hn." Neji simply nodded.

An average looking man was waiting for them on the platform, an umbrella held over his head. His robes were shabby and patched, and he looked tired. However tired that he looked, the man smiled faintly at them.

"Hello. I am Remus Lupin. You three are the guards, I presume?"

"Yes. Yes, we are." Lee smiled brightly.

"Very good."

"You actually believer that we're the guards?! You're the first person all day!!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Really? I don't find it that hard to believe. So, what are your names?"

"I am Neji Hyuuga." All the teachers had given their surnames second, instead of in front the way people in Konoha did.

"Tenten Buki." Tenten had noticed the same thing.

"I am LEE!" He struck his 'Nice Guy Pose'.

"He's been spending a little bit too much time with our teacher." Tenten grinned sheepishly and hit Lee on the head.

"Okay...is that everything you have?" He gestured to the packs slung over their owners' backs. They nodded. "I think that we can leave now." Tenten frowned.

"Where's the exit?" She asked.

"Right there." Lupin pointed to what appeared to be a solid brick wall. While Lee and Tenten blinked, Neji activated his Byakugan.

"Genjutsu. It's not solid at all." Lupin blinked at him.

"Gen...what?" And it normally is solid, but it opens when people need to get through. And how could you tell?" The man gave Neji a puzzled look.

"Family ability." Neji said simply. Lupin didn't need to know everything about his Byakugan yet.

"Anyway, we can walk through this wall." He glanced up at a light on the wall. It was red. "Just not yet." It turned green. "Go!" He quickly nudged them through the wall. "We can stop now."

"What was that all about?" Tenten asked, keeping a firm grip on Lee's arm to keep him from dashing away to investigate the area. Lupin bent down slightly to whisper in their ears.

"Us wizards aren't allowed to show any power around Muggles. Non-wizards," He added at their confused looks.

"Does that make us Muggles?" Lee asked, still itching to go touch everything.

"I'm not sure," Lupin admitted. "You aren't wizards or witches, but you still have some kind of power. Which I'd keep hidden if I were you, particularly around Muggles."

"Art of deception. Show none of your abilities unless it is absolutely necessary." Neji quoted, soudning as if he had been told it a thousand times.

"It's one of the shinobi rules," Tenten told Lupin, who had looked totally clueless.

"Shinobi rules?" Lupin asked.

"Code of the ninja," Lee said cheerfully, bouncing along beside Tenten. "The code that all of us must learn to recite and live by, expecially on missions."

"Oh." As they had talked, Lupin had led the team out of the train station and over to a car. "Here we are." Team Gai sighed and climbed into the back seat. Even though Konoha didn't have any cars at all, they were smart enough to realize that first of all, they needed to get in the thing, and second of all, the back seat was the only place with enough room for all of them. They also realized, looking at the seat belts, that they were supposed to strap themselves in. As Lupin took the wheel, he looked back at them. Neji was on the left side, Tenten was in the middle, and Lee was on the right. The way they were sitting was angled so that their backs were ifrly against each other. It was almost as if they expected to be attacked by something or someone.

"_We can trust him, can't we?_" Tenten asked quietly.

"_I think so._" Neji replied. "_he seems trustworthy...actually...he reminds me of someone._"

"_Iruka-sensei._" Lee suddenly interjected. "_That's who he reminds you of. That's who he reminds me of, at least._"

"_...That is who he reminds me of._" Neji said, frowning thoughtfully. "_He has the same kind of...aura. That's the best way I can explain it._"

"_I think so too. And he's the only one that trusts us to actually be guards. I like him._" Tenten decided cheerfully.

"What language are you speaking?" Lupin suddenly asked.

"Um...the language of our village. It's doesn't actually have a name..." Lee said. He glanced at Lupin, then quickly resumed his vigilant watch out the window. Neji sighed.

"The village council have been debating on a name for years." He snorted quietly. "I doubt that they'll ever come to a decision. Not with Tsunade as Hokage at least."

"Hokage?"

"Leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, also known as Konoha." Tenten clarified. "That's where we come from." Lupin nodded from the front seat.

"So, are there many ninja?" The man asked.

"Yes. There are many in our village, but there are a number of other villages too. We're lucky that Dumbledore-sama knew Sarutobi-sama, or he might have given the mission to another village. And Konoha really needs the missions badly," Tenten sighed.

"Why?" Lupin asked. These kids were confusing. Too many other places and things that he had never heard of in his life.

"We lost about a hundred of our shinobi in a recent attack on our village, and we lost another promising ninja after he defected even more recently," Neji quietly explained. "And we lose more and more ninja every day.. Too many are killed, and we have too may missions to take them all, but the more we turn down, the more missions that go to other villages, and the more power that they gain."

"That is why our youthful master, Gai-sensei, couldn't come with us. He had his own missions," Lee said. Lupin simply nodded again. What more could he do?

"We're lucky to be on this mission, though," Tenten said cheerfully. "Normally, we wouldn't be allowed on any missions like this without at least Gai-sensei, if not a bunch more ninja."

Neji nodded in agreement. Lupin had quickly figured out that Neji wouldn't talk unless he was forced to give an explanation. Oh well. They were almost to the Leaky Cauldron anyway.

"We're here," Lupin said quietly as the car pulled to a stop outside the Leaky Cauldron. Team Gai looked over to see a small, dingy building. Lee was the first one to climb out the door, a kunai already in his hand and his pack on his back. Tenten was quickly at his back, and Neji was at hers.

"Are there generally many strange people around?" Lee asked, eyes flicking around the area.

"Relax. The Leaky Cauldron is reasonably safe." Lupin led them up to the building, which everyone around them seemed to be ignoring.

"Why isn't anyone going in besides us?" Tenten asked.

"Hm? Oh, those are Muggles. Magic conceals it to them, but wizards, and apparently ninja, can see it. Go on in." He herded them in the door, ignoring Neji's glare of protest. "We need to talk to Tom."

"Who?" Tenten asked.

"The barkeeper." Lupin walked up to a hunchbacked man and began talking to him quietly. Team Gai pressed themselves into a triangle, and Neji activated his Byakugan to examine the area. He quickly blinked and jerked his head back.

"Neji, what's wrong?" Lee asked.

"There's chakra everywhere," Neji winced and rubbed his eyes quietly. "It's very bright."

"That puts us at a disadvantage," Tenten murmured to her firends. "If Neji can't scan the area, we won't know what's around."

"The school isn't so bad. I can look around there, but it's difficult." Neji whispered back.

"Hey, come on," Lupin broke in, turning to follow the hunchbacked man. The three ninja followed cautiously.

"Thanks, Tom." Lupin said when the man stopped in front of a door. "We'll be fine from here." The man nodded, gave the ninja a crooked grin, and left. "We have four rooms. Apparently, Dumbledore called ahead. These four," Lupin pointed to four doors, "are ours to divide as we will." The ninja exchanged brief glances before looking up at Lupin and shrugging.

"We don't care," Lee said.

"I don't either," Lupin replied.

"Then we settle in the same way as we would on any other mission," Neji said, attempting to use his Byakugan to see through the doors.

"Works for me," Tenten shruged.

"YOSH! I AGREE WITH YOU, MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee cheered loudly. Lupin sighed. This was going to be a long week before they went to Hogwarts. It looked like Neji agreed, as he sighed too and walked into the leftmost room. Tenten took the room beside him, Lee took the one next to her, and that left Lupin the rightmost room. Even as he walked in, Lupin glanced quickly at the doors, and couldn't help be notice that they were in the same positions as they had been in the car.

Neji quickly finished inspecting his room. He refused to unpack any of his things. They could simply stay in his pack. There was a mirror above the dresser that, as he had walked by, had asked him a wheezy voice if he was a girl or a boy, but had quickly assured him that he was very pretty either way. Immediately afterwards, the stupid thing had been thrown under his bed. It could break or not, Neji really didn't care. After making sure that he had the money that Dumbledore had given him, he walked out the door and leaned against the wall across from their roms. tenten and Lee were not long in joining him.

"_So, what do we do now?_" Tenten asked, looking around to see if anyone was around to eavesdrop.

"_We need more information about the area...and the boy we're supposed to be protecting._" Neji said.

"_Professor Lupin knows all about the area. Maybe we can ask him._" Lee suggested.

"_We could, and we need to ask him about the condition that Dumbledore-sama mentioned. For now, let's just learn this place._" Neji ordered quietly.

"_Hey, do you two have weird mirrors in your rooms that talk to you?_" Tenten suddenly asked. "_Mine suggested that I let my hair down and wear a dress._"

"_I have one,_" Lee replied. "_It kept laughing,_" Tenten snorted, and Neji rolled his eyes.

"_I can't imagine why,_" Tenten said, patting Lee on the shoulder, "_Neji, do you have one?_"

"_Yes,_" He ground out. "_It has taken up residence under the bed,_" Tenten began giggling quietly, but stopped at her friend's mild glare. "_We need to search the area. If we don't meet up somewhere else or find something, we meet back here in half an hour,_" Tenten and Lee nodded and dashed off to investigate. Neji walked down the hallway in the opposite direction. Ignored by them, Lupin had heard them from inside his room. He couldn't understand them, but he knew that they had left, most likely to look around. Good for them. He could sleep.

Team Gai all reached the main room of the inn at the same time, all from different doors. They carefully ignored each other, as if they had never seen each other in their lives, although they knew that their identical headbands were something of a giveaway if anyone wanted to pay attention. There was a large table of reheads sitting in one corner of the room, although there was one brown haired girl and a black haired boy with glasses. All of the ninja froze at that. Dark hair and glasses?! It could be the boy that they were supposed to guard! They glanced at each other before each climbed up the nearest wall into the shadows. They met on the ceiling just above the table, trying to listen in and see if this was their target.

"_Neji, can you activate your Byakugan to see him better?_" Tenten asked. Neji shook his head silently and titled his head to hear the kids' conversation better. The red haired boy and the brown haired girl were arguing about a cat eating a rat, and the black haired boy was just listening, looking slightly annoyed. The girl turned to him.

"Harry, don't you think that Crookshanks should be able to stay?"

"Um..." The red haired boy turned to him too.

"Harry, Scabbesr was here first! Shouldn't he stay?"

"Um..." The ninja tuned out the rest of the conversation and turned to each other.

"_That's him! Harry Potter!_" Tenten said happily. "_We found him!_"

"_Yay!_" Lee cheered. "_We can being our mission now!_"

"_We're going t have to leave him unprotected to get the supplies we need...or we'll have to split up. I don't want to do either...we don't know wnough about this world._" Neji closed his eyes to think. "_I think that he'll be fome with all of the people around him...the most we can do here is chekc in on him at regular intervals._"

"_Sounds good to me. Let's get off of the ceiling before someone sees us._" Tenten crept over to a shadowy wall and began to crawl down it, trying to stay small. Lee and Neji quietly followed.

"We should get back to the rooms and take a look at the lists to see what we need," Lee said, skipping loudly out of the room. His teammates rolled their eyes and followed him. Over at the Weasley table, three heads turned to watch Team Gai's exit.

"Foreigners, do you think?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione.

"Probably. Was that one kid a boy or a girl?" Ron asked.

"That was a boy," Hermione said firmly, "and did you see his eyes?"

"What was wrong with them?" Ron asked.

"They were white, and they didn't have any pupils." Hermione shuddered. "I think he was blind,"

"Blind? That's horrible..." Harry trailed off. "Well, I think that his friends were keeping an eye on him."

"Yeah...He's fine. Pass the pudding?" Ron asked. Hermione sighed and obeyed. Ron would never change.

Lupin woke up to find three ninja perched around the room, all staring at him. Neji was on the windowsill, Tenten was hanging from the ceiling, and Lee was on the dresser, grinning brightly. The Hyuuga turned toward him, half-glaring, although Lupin suspected that this was his normal expression.

"What exactly are you doing?" He asked tiredly.

"Waiting." Neji said. "We have already been through this entire building, and we found our charge."

"Charge?"

"Harry Potter! We found him!" Lee said happily, standing on his head.

"He was downstairs with a red headed family and a brown haired girl." Tenten began to do cartwheels across the ceiling, and Lupin looked away. He was getting naueous from all the movement of these kids.

"Must have been the Weasley family...but I don't know the brown haired girl." Tenten stopped her cartwheels.

"Oh...yeah...Harry's friend's name was Ron Weasley." Lee and tenten looked over at Neji, who was staring out the window.

"They'll keep an eye on him until the school year starts," Neji said absentmindedly, "but we need to get our supplies. And learn more about this world."

"I can help you with the supply shopping. I suppose you want to go now."

"Please?" Tenten asked. "We need to get used to this place." Lupin looked over at Lee, who waved, and Neji, who stared right back, eyes narrowed.

"Fine, fine. I'm coming." He stood up and brushed his robes off. "Let's go, then." Tenten fell off of the ceiling and landed on her feet, folllowing the man out the door. Lee happily hopped off of the desser to follow, and Neji sighed, but obediently walked out the door after teammates and Lupin.

The professor led them out of the inn through a back door that they had gone through during their exploration. It had only been a dark alley with a few garbage cans. Lupin dre his wand and turned to the wall with the garbage cans in front of it. To the ninja's surprise, he began couting bricks.

"Let's see...three bricks to the left above the middle can." And he gave the brick a firm jab with the wand. The bricks parted, moving aside enough that they could all fit through.

"Um...Neji?" Tenten asked. Her teammate had already activated his Byakugan, but quickly deactivated it again.

"Too bright." Neji shook his head.

"Sorry," Tenten said sheepishly. Neji simply shook his head and followed Lupin, one hand in his kunai pouch. Lee walked beside Tenten. He was obviously very excited.

"We should get you fitted for robes first." Lupin pointed at a small shop with a sign out front. Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Go on in." They carefully pushed the door open and stepped into the building. A small plump witch was dashing around with a number of pins in her mouth and black fabric draped over one arm. There were a few other kids in the store, but they seemed to be simply browsing. Upon seeing team Gai, the woman ran over.

"Is there something that I can help you with, dears?" The ninja simply blinked at her, so Lupin stepped in.

"They all need fitting for Hogwarts robes."

"Of course! Come right this way." She ushered Tenten up onto a small pedestal and draped a large black robe over her shoulders. Within minutes, she was nudging Tenten toward a rack of uniforms, not just robes, but blouses, a sweater vest, and a pleated skirt. Once Tenten was done, she grabbed Lee and quickly fitted him, wincing at the sight of the bright greenbodysuit and orange arm and leg bands. Lee was kicked off of the stand, and Neji was dragged him. She ignored the draping white Hyuuga robes and had him on and off the stand in less than three minutes.

"That all comes to three Galleons and ten Sickles." Neji counted out the coins and handed them to the woman, and she nodded and ran off, already focusing on another customer.

"Good...you have robes...can I see one of your school lists?" Lee dug his out of his pouch and handed it to Lupin. "Hm...Potions ingredients...you can carry things in your cauldrons. Tis way to the Apothocary." He led them out of the store and down a few shops to another one, where he pushed them through another door. "Now, your lists should say what you need in what amounts." Neji scanned his own list quickly and raised one eyebrow at the contents.

"And why, exactly, are we going to need such things as rat spleen?"

"Potion making requires many extremely odd ingredients. I recommend we get everything that you need and get out of here before they bring out their freshest stock. The smell...is horrible." Tenten blanched.

"We can go fast." She promised. "Let's go." Tenten was right. Team Gai could go very fast, given proper motivation. Lupin, personally, was amazed by the speed of the kids.

"We're done." Lee said quickly, having let Neji work with the money and taken the opportunity to throw his things into the pewter cauldron. Neji, the cauldron held in one hand, stepped up to stand behind Tenten, who was also ready.

"The book store is just next door. We can get your textbooks." Team Gai was out the door in seconds. Lupin followed as quickly as he could, noticing that a storekeeper was was walking out with a large tray piled high with fresh ingredients. To Lupin's surprise, the ninja stopped outside the door, watching something through the window with faint amusement. He joined them and saw what they were watching with such fascination. A large cage filled with snarling brown books shook and rattled loudly. The words The Monster Book of Monsters were embossed on the covers in gold.

"That book is on our list." Neji said, still reading his. "We each need one." Lupin simply sighed.

"Of course. Well, go on in." They walked in, and the ninja each placed their cauldrons in the most out of the way corner. The cauldrons were too bulky to be hauled through shelves of books. A store assistant noticed them and came over.

"Can I help you three with something?" He asked.

"Yes. We need three copies of the Monster Book of Monsters." Neji said. The man blanched.

"Three?! You...you're kidding, right?! Tell me you're kidding!" The man begged.

"We're not." Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Okay...um...be ready for any escapees." He pulled on a pair of thick gloves and opened up the cage. Immediately, every one of the books lunged for the opening, knocking the assistant to the ground and scattering through the store. Lupin drew his wand and helped the man up.

"Will Stunning work on these things?" He asked, lifting one foot as a book scuttled by.

"I think so," The assistant drew his own wand and began firing spells at the books.

"What do we do?" Tenten asked Neji, kicking another book away. Lee was essentially dancing, kicking books everywhere. Neji activated his Byakugan, squinting against the painful brightness of the excessive surrounding magic.

"There are odd chakra patterns around the spine of the books." He managed to deactivate the Byakugan and snatch up a nearby book before running one finger down the spine, not using any chakra at all. The book shuddered and went limp. "Stroke the spines." He said, dropping the book and grabbing the other one.

"Good!" Tenten and Lee began grabbing books too, carefully running a finger down the length of the spine before dropping them and grabbing the next. Soon, between the ninja and the Stunning spells from Lupin and the assistant, every book was returned to the cage.

"Thank you!" The man said earnestly. "You have no idea how thankful I am. Now, was there anything else that you needed?" Neji pulled out his list and took Tenten's as well, remembering that her and Lee were taking Divination. He looked them over for a moment, and then the man took them from him. "Never mind, I'll find you three everything!" And he ran off. The ninja blinked after him, but turned back to Lupin.

"What else are we going to need?" tenten asked.

"Telescopes for Astronomy, parchment and quills, wands, and, if you choose, a pet."

"That's it? So, we'll be finished soon then." Lee said.

"Yes, we should be, and here comes the assistant now." The man ran up, almost to the point of collapse fro the weight of three sets of books.

"Here you go, two copies of Unfogging the Future for Divination beginners, and the Arithmancy book, and here are the other, and that comes to three Galleons, twelve Sickles, and five Knuts." Neji handed the man the money. "Once again, thank you so much for helping me catch the books...my emmplyer would have had my head if they escaped completely."

"You're welcome," Lee grinned brightly before dumping his books in the cauldron and easliy lifting it with one hand. The man smiled back before running off, likely to see another customer.

"Astronomy stuff next?" Tenten asked. "I saw a sign for that down the street," she paused to look both ways, "thataway." The kunoichi mpointed and led the small group down the street to the store with the telescopes. "We need brass telescopes...there." She pointed again at the display.

"Those look right," Lupin agreed. "We just need three of them and then we can move on to parchment and quills." The purchase was very quick this time, and the store next door was the one with parchment and quills. They each bought what seemed like an obscene amount of parchment before moving on to look at quills. There were a number of very fine ones, but Team Gai just bought a bunch of plain, practical ones to last them through the year.

"So...the wand is the lsat necessary thing?" Lee asked.

"Yes, but it is the most important. Wizards channel all of their power through their wands...with a ninja...I think that you will be able to learn spells and use wands." Lupin shrugged. "At the very least, you should have one for show."

"We'll be able to use them," Neji said firmly. "Ninja have a chakra system that twines through their entire body. Wizards, however, have a slighlty different system. Their system twins around their heart and brain and then runs out to the end of their dominant hand. It doesn't go through the entire body."

"Neji, when did you find this out?" Tenten asked.

"Back at the school during the spars. I had the Byakugan activated and the teachers were standing nearby, so I saw their systems." He sighed. "Although, I should have looked directly at them. It's easier to remember the exact system if I have them in my direct sight."

"Wait, so, what exactly can your Byakugan," Lupin stumbled slightly over the foreign word, "do?"

"It gives me almost three hundred and sixty degree vision with out small blind spot. I can see chakra systems of people and things. I can see chakra or magic, long distances, through darkness, and through almost all illusions and walls. It's my family's bloodline trait." Neji stopped, ignroing Lupin's shocked face. "Is the that wand shop?"

"Yes. Olivander's wands are up with teh best in the wizarding world. I will warn you though, he's a little strange, but he means no harm." And with that, he pushed them in the door.

"_He needs to stop doing that,_" Tenten complained, "_We can walk!_"

"_Tell him that, not me._" Came Neji's unsympathetic response. He wasn't happy about it either.

Tenten was still distracted with glaring at Neji and Lee, whom she was only glaring at for not doing anything, until an old man popped out from behind the counter. She flinched and hopped backwards, straight into Neji, who caught her just before she knocked them both over.

"Easy, Tenten. Being alert is one thing, being jumping is another," Neji said, faint amusement lacing his voice.

"Tenten, are you alright?!" Lee asked loudly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Tenten waved him off with one hand, keeping her attention focused on the old man in front of them.

"So, can I help you four?" The man asked, smiling like any trained salesman. Professor Lupin nodded.

"Yes, these three need to be fitted for wands." The old man nodded and looked down at the ninja.

"Which one of you wishes to be first?" Lee stepped forward, striking one of his famous poses.

"YOSH! I SHALL BE FIRST!" The old man gave Lee an odd look and walked into the back of the store, coming back with a thin box.

"Here, try this," He opened the box and held out a small stick of wood. "Oak, ten inches long, unicorn hair core, good for Transfiguration," He handed Lee the stick. "Give it a wave," Lee waved it enthusiastically, and it produced a huge stream of fire that nearly set Neji's hair alight.

"LEE, WATCH IT!" Tenten shrieked, dodging the fire herself. The old man stared for a moment before snatched the wand back.

"Most definately not. Here, try this one. Highly unusual wood, made from a cherry tree, twelve inches long, pheonix feath core." Tenten began snickering.

"_Made from a Sakura tree. The one'll definately work._" Neji smirked faintly in agreement. Lee gave the wand a swooping wave, and pink cherry blossom petals began to drift down.

"Ah, lovely! That will be twelve Sickles." Neji counted out the money and handed it to the man. "Since you're up, would you like to go next?" Neji scowled at him, but didn't move. The man pulled out a measuring tape. "Hold out your wand arm," Neji gave him an odd look.

"Your dominant arm," Lupin offered helpfully. Neji frowned slightly, but held out his right arm. The old man quickly measured his arm and hand in more ways than Neji thought possible.

"Why didn't you do this for my t...friend?" Neji quickly cut himself off before he could say 'teammate'.

"It's harder for me to get your measure than it was for him." He looked down at his measurements and nodded, as if they confirmed something. "Ah, just as I though."

"What?" Neji asked suspiciously, his hand hovering over his kunai pouch. Tenten was looking slightly worried, and Lee was absently waving his new wand.

"Oh, it's just a hunch of mine," He walked into the back, looking through the stacks of boxes. "Let's try this," he had another one of the boxes in his hands and pulled out a wand. "Nine and a helf inches long, oak, dragon heartstring core." Neji hesitantly waved it, and a miniature tornado started up in the middle of the shop, knocking his teammates and Lupin off of their feet and startling the old man. "No, no definately not." The man held out his hand. Neji willingly gave it to him.

"Are you sure that this is necessary?" Tenten asked Lupin worriedly. She didn't want to be thrown through a window next. It had hurt a lot the last time it had happened on a mission.

"I'm afraid so. Each of you has to have a wand or you'll stand out...and...no offense, but you three stand out enough on your own." he watched the old man offer Neji another wand, which created a large torrent of water.

"No offense taken. It's one thing to be undercover when people know about shinobi...but it's another to be something else entirely." Tenten grinned sheepishly. "So if you hear random explosions when we get to the school...it's probably one of us venting some frustration." Lupin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. We'll probably end up venting. Neji has no tolerance for idiots, Lee'll want to train, and I'll be managing those two."

The old man, looking much the worse for wear, came out from the back, one box held in his hands. It looked much more battered than the others that had been brought out.

"Well, I though that I wasn't going to ever need this one, but I might have been wrong." He pulled it out of the box. "Thirteen inches long, mahogany, with a core made from the tail feather of a pheonix." He handed it to Neji, who took it, loooking as if it was likely to explode like a firetag.

"And why, exactly, is this so special?" Neji asked.

"The pheonix that the core came from was very angry. It had been terrorizing a community of wizards." Neji held the wand with the very tips of his fingers.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"The wand draws power from is core," The old man said patiently, "and so if the core is corrupted, so will the magic that it produces. In this case, the core is tainted by rage, although it seems to have calmed slightly since I first aquired it. The pheonix in question had its only egg stolen by some poachers, as I was told. Give it a wave and see if it fits."

Neji gave him a very hard stare before gingerly waving the stick. To everyone's shock, a fiery bird emerged from the tip and soared around the shop before landing on Neji's shoulder with a fearsome shriek. The ninja tensed and were about to skewer the creature before it dissipated into thin air.

"Hm...that's quite interesting." The old man nodded sagely. "Well, that wand has obviously chosed you." Neji simply nodded, staring at the innocent looking stick of wood in his hand. "So, that will be thirteen Sickles." Once again, Neji counted money out and handed it to the man.

"Tenten, it is time for you to show your youthfulness!" Lee struck a pose, ignoring the incredulous looked from both Lupin and the shopkeeper.

"I get it, Lee," Tenten grinned at him and stepped up.

"Hm..." The man stared at her intently for a few moments before picking up a box and handing her the wand inside. "Nine inches, made of birch, core of a unicorn tail," Tenten gave the wand a careful wave, not wanting to create something catastrophic like Neji and Lee had. Much to everyone's relief, a simply fountain of gold sparks spurted from the tip.

"_Thank goodness,_" Tenten breathed.

"So, that will be nine Sickles," Neji counted out the money again and handed it to the man, giving a quiet sigh of relief at the lack of natural disasters.

"Thank you, sir. We will be leaving now," And with that, Neji managed to sweep dramatically out of the store, even though he wasn't wearing anything particularly long and flowing. Neji was just special that way. Giving the old shopkeeper an apologetic grirn, Tenten followed her teammate, dragging Lee out after her. Lupin sighed and followed them. These kids were trouble.

The man fully expected the ninja to be ready to move onto the next stop, or wherever they wre planning on going. What he did nto expect was to find Neji sitting forlornly on a bench outside, fingering the wand and looking slightly lost.

"Ah, Neji, are you ready to move on?" Lupin asked quietly, sensing that something was wrong. Tenten and Lee appeared slightly concerned, but they seemd to understand the cause of Neji's sudden depression.

"_Bring back memories, Neji?_" Lee asked. The Hyuuga nodded.

"_Many. All of them bad._" He commented. "Anyway, I'm ready to move on." Neji stood and brushed his pants off, sticking his wand in the kunai pouch. "Is there anything left that we need?"

"Nothing that is required, but students are allowed to bring an owl, a cat, or a toad to school as a pet. Wizards use owls to send messages, so you might find them useful."

"_Owls?_" Neji muttered to himself.

"_I'm sure that they're fine, Neji._" Tenten said quickly. Neji and his bird protectiveness had caused more than its share of damage, even though whenever Neji went beserk, it was over a bird that was clearly miserable and mistreated. Lupin gave the ninja an odd look at Neji's sudden muttering of something that sounded like death threats in his own language.

"Here is the pet shop," Team Gai followed him into the store, and Lupin couldn't help but feel slightly threatened by the constant glare from Neji that was boring into his back.

He watched as the ninja carefully spread out through the store, looking at all the animals. Lee seemed particularly interested in a small snail that was changing colors as it oozed up the side of its tank.

"_Tenten, Neji, look at this!_" He exclaimed excitedly. His teammates came to stand behind him, watching the thing.

"_It's a snail, Lee._" Tenten said patiently.

"_But it is most youthful! It changes colors!_" The spandex-wearing ninja said enthusiastically.

"_Lee, it's a snail_," Neji sighed. "_I know it changes colors, but I'm sure that there's a jutsu that can do the same thing. Or you could always ask someone to help you make one._"

"_That is true,_" Lee said thoughtfully, still watching the snail. "_Neji, I think that the birds are over there,"_ He pointed to the far wall, where lines and lines of cages stood. Neji immediately tensed, turning to regard the cages with disgust. No matter how well the birds inside were treated, Neji still hated cages of almost any kind with a passion.

The Hyuuga cautiously walked across the shop, examining the caged birds with a practiced eye. Most of them eyed him curiously, but some simply ignored him. One, however, gave him a malevolent glare and flapped its wings angrily. It wasn't an owl, like most of the other birds. This one was a falcon, and it looked like it would try to rip Neji to shreds without a second thought.

"He looks...angry." Tenten commented from behind Neji. "Why does he look like he wants to kill you?"

"It's a she, Tenten, and she wants to fly." Neji gently poked his fingers through the bars and allowed the bird to close her sharp beak on them.

"She also watns to rip your fingers off," Tenten observed with a wince.

"Not really," Neji sighed. "She just wants to be out of the cage." The bird continued to eye Neji angrily, but released his fingers. Lee came over to see what had Neji's full attention and raised one eyebrow at Neji's bloody fingers.

"Neji, what happened?" Lee asked hesitantly.

"He's taken interest in an angry bird," Tenten told him quickly. "You know, Neji, you just buy her." Neji gave her a 'look', but she continued. "I know that we're only supposed to bring an owl, cat, or toad, but since when do you care about rules?"

"Point taken," Neji said, wrapping his fingers up with a small roll of bandages.

"YES, IT WOULD BE MOST YOUTHFUL!" Lee struck a pose, earing them strange looks from almost everyone else in the store.

"Lee, you're traumatizing the animals," Tenten sighed. "Anyway, Neji, do you mind if I go look at the cats?" Her teammate shook his head, doing a weird telepathy thing that he did with almost every bird that he saw. "Okay, come on, Lee." She dragged his hand and dragged the hyper boy after her. The more time that Neji had alone with the bird, the more likely that it was that he would agree to buy it and stop feeling guilty about it.

"Lee, what do you think of this kitten?" She asked, watching a tiny gray creature clamer around its cage, mewing adorably. Lee wasn't as oblivious as he appeared; he could tell that Tenten was already infatuated with the little thing.

"IT IS MOST YOUTHFUL, TENTEN!" He exclaimed happily. Anything to help Tenten get the kitten if it would make her happy. While Tenten was busy admiring the kitten, Lee slipped away to look at the rest of the animals. It wasn't likely that he would find a pet of his own. Lee didn't have a connection to animals like his teammates did. Everyone knew about Neji's bird fanaticism, and Tenten loved cats, but not as many people knew about that.

"Something you're interested in, Lee?" Someone asked from behind him. Lee turned with his typical shining grin.

"I have not yet found something with the POWER OF YOUTH!" He told Lupin loudly. The man raised one eyebrow, watching Neji and Tenten interact with their chosen creatures.

"Hm...and what, may I ask, has that power?"

"I do not know yet, but I will soon find out!" Lee flashed his blinding smile.

"Well, if you need some help, you can let me know," Lupin gave him a faint smile, and Lee was strongly reminded of Iruka-sensei from the academy. Lee nodded and returned to looking at cages.

The first cage that he looked into had a small turtle inside. It calmly looked up at him, dark eyes blinking slowly. The turtle was small enough to fit into the palm of Lee's hand, and it didn't seem fazed by his steady gaze. When Lee carefully pushed one finger into the cage, the turtle nudged it with its small snout. It reminded Lee a lot of his teacher's summon, although this turtle was nowhere near as big. There was a jutsu that allowed a shinobi to have a bond with an animal like the Inuzuka clan had with their dogs...maybe he could use it on the little turtle in front of him. He knew that it affected the growth of the animal, so it was likely that this little scrap of a thing could easily grow to be large enough to ride on.

Whatever else he felt, Lee certainly felt pity for the slightly pathetic creature in front of him. It was looked like it had been there awhile, and it was alone in the large tank. He grinned down at it as it nudged his finger again, probably searching for food. Maybe he would find a pet here after all...

Lupin smiled as the watched the shinobi and the animals. Neji had a faraway look in his eyes as the bird mauled his fingertips. It was kind of strange that the ninja didn't mind that the falcon was drawing blood, but if he didn't mind, Lupin wasn't about to disturb him. Tenten was clearly happy with the fluffly gray kitten, using one finger to rub its belly as it batted at her hand with tiny paws. Lee probably had the strangest pet. He was giving a small turtle the look that Lupn had only ever seen on a doting parent. Well, these ninja certainly were...interesting.

"Are you three ready?" He asked, half-expecting the children to ignore him. To his faint surprise, all of them looked up and nodded.

"We just need to pay," Neji said quietly, finally removing his fingers from the falcon's cage and wiping them on a rag. The bird had started to rip at his fingers again. "Lee, Tenten, find anything?"

"Yeah," Tenten said, continuing to rub the kitten's fur.

"OF COURSE, NEJI! I HAVE FINALLY FOUND THE CREATURE WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Lupin watched Neji slowly pinch the bridge of his nose in an attempt to keep his temper with an air that the man had seen many times on a frustrated parent or teacher.

"Fine." Neji walked up to the witch at the counter. "My...friends and I are ready to pay, but we require some assistance with the cages."

"Of course. Just show me the cages and I can give you the prices." She gave him a cheesy smile, and Neji simply sighed before walking over to Tenten and her kitten's cage. The witch followed. "Hm...you've chosen little Thunder? He's cute. Five Sickles." Neji silently handed the woman the money. She opened the cage and handed the kunoichi her kitten. "Would you like a cat carrier?" Tenten simply shook her head. She looked down at the kitten in her arms, and then back up at the witch before asking a question that had suddenly popped into her head.

"Thunder?" Tenten asked. "He doesn't look very thunderous."

"You haven't heard him purr yet." The witch smiled. "Which other ones?"

"His..." Neji glanced over at the cage that Lee was standing next to, "turtle. Wait, why on earth was Lee getting a turtle? Probably something about Gai's summon being a tortoise. The witch unlocked the tank. "Ten Sickles for the turtle and the tank." She happily took the money and gave Lee the turtle in a new, smaller tank. "

"Anything else?" Neji walked over to stand beside the falcon's cage.

"Her." Neji said simply. The bird glared at the witch. The woman was clearly disturbed, particularly when she saw the blood dripping from the bird's beak.

"Her?" The witch asked incredulously. "She's completely vicious!"

"I know." Neji's response was simple and to the point.

"I'm not sure that you can handle her..."

"He can," Tenten said.

"YOSH! NEJI HAS MUCH OF THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Lee proclaimed loudly from where he was standing with his new turtle.

"I can handle her, and she isn't completely vicious." Neji's glare was getting pronounced enough, and his chakra, although the witch couldn't see it, was roiling with frustration. All she could sense was growing anger.

"Fine, fine. She's twelve Sickles, and her cage is another five." Neji simply counted out twelve of the silver coins and pressed them into her hand.

"I'm not going to need the cage."

"But, you will have to have some way to contain her!"

"I need no such thing. Now, are you planning on releasing her, or not?" The witch gulped quietly and unlocked the cage, quickly stepping back. The falcon's response was immediate. She shoved the door of her cage over with her beak and took over, soaring around the shop. The witch glanced over at Neji, who just stood there and watched the falcon.

"Are you going to get her?" The witch asked.

"No. I'm letting her go." And with that, the Hyuuga opened the door of the shop and let the bird fly out. Tenten and Lee followed, looking as if this was an everyday occurence. Lupin, however, was slightly confused. Wow, he really had a lot to figure out about these ninja. What sane person would buy a bird, and then let it go if it wants?

"Do you think that she'll come back, Neji?" Tenten asked, still cradling her new kitten, Thunder.

"Hm...I don't know." Neji watched the bird soar over the rooftops, smiling faintly. "It wouldn't bother me if she didn't."

"YOSH! NEJI, YOU ARE FILLED WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Lee did his best to stike a pose while holding the small bowl for his turtle.

"You're going to drop the bowl, Lee," Lupin said amusedly. He picked the bowl off of Lee's hand and held it gently against his chest, smiling in a way that reminded all three ninja of Iruka-sensei.

"YOSH, THANK YOU, LUPIN-SENSEI!" Lee, freed from the responsibility of holding a bowl, struck a Gai-sensei pose.

"You're welcome?" He offered hesitantly, handing the bowl back to Lee. Tenten giggled quietly at the confused look on their teacher's face, and Neji offered him a faint, amused smirk. Still laughing quietly, Tenten offered Neji her kitten to hold. He took the little cat carefully, letting it cling to his shirt with tiny claws. The creature started purring happily as Neji rubbed his head with one finger.

"Aww...he likes you, Neji," Tenten said. He simply nodded, handing the cat back to Tenten. Thunder meowed, upset at the move, but his mistress held him in the crook of one arm and carried her cauldron in the other. Lee appeared to be having some trouble carrying the bowl and the large cauldron, so Neji carried it for him since he wasn't holding an animal himself.

"So, is there anything else that we need, Professor Lupin?" Neji asked, faint sarcam lacing Lupin's title.

"Nothing. We're done. Back to the inn, I suppose. You're going to want to read up on the wizarding world, right?" He said.

"Yes," Tenten said. "We don't need to be discovered as frauds on our first day,"

"We have the books we need to study, and here's the wall to the inn." Neji stopped, waiting for Lupin to let them out. The teacher stepped up to the wall and poked the correct brick. Even as they began to leave, a loud screech filled the air. Neji's head immediately shot up, and his right arm, the bandaged one, lifted slightly. The falcon landed on Neji's arm, looking up at him expectantly. A dead mouse dangled from her beak.

"She came back," Lupin said, amazed. "She really did." He hadn't thought that the bird would return.

"I'm not surprised." Neji shifted the bird to his shoulder, where she clung with sharp talons. "Try not to get blood on me," He told the bird sternly. She gave Neji a baleful glare, but oblidged.

"So, what are you three planning on doing for the rest of the week?" Lupin asked.

"We're studying, or at least I am." Tenten sighed. "And I plan on bonding my chakra to Thunder's."

"Bond?" Lupin asked.

"So we can understand them, and they can help us in battles or as spies." Neji said, stroking the falcon's head with one finger.

"YOSH, I WILL BOND WITH MAITO!" Lee proclaimed loudly.

"Maito?" Lupin asked.

"It's our teacher's given name. He can summon a tortoise, so, well...um...he's Lee." Tenten shrugged. "Chakra bonding is useful in battles, though. An extra being to fight and whatever. It takes a while to fully bond with your animal, but it's worth it." Lupin simply sighed. These children confused him more than almost anyone that he had ever met.

"You ninja have many secrets, don't you?" Lupin sighed. The three nodded. "Does anybody here know them all?" They shook their heads. "Of course not. Well, you three go do...whatever you're planning on doing. I'm going to take a nap." The ninja all went into Tenten's room, and Lupin went into his own room and fell asleep.

"Neji, are you planning on naming her?" Tenten asked once they were all settled in on her bed. Neji's falcon was perched on his shoulder, Thunder was asleep on Tenten's lap, and Maito the turtle was in his bowl on Lee's lap.

"After the bond, perhaps. It depends on her. I'm not forcing her into anything. That would ruin the point of buying her to set her free." Even as he spoke, one hand had reached up to stoke the bird's head.

"She likes you," Tenten observed, still rubbing Thunder's belly.

"YOSH, NEJI IS MOST YOUTHFUL!" Lee cheered, almost knocking the bowl off of his lap.

"Lee, if you aren't careful, you're going to overturn the bowl," Neji sighed. "And chakra bonding might take days, so we have to get started if we want to have time to read up on everything too." Tenten and Lee nodded. They were both used to Neji taking charge, and didn't really mind. He usually knew what to do, and when he didn't, one of the other two would take over temporarily.

Without saying another word, Team Gai quietly settled down in their preferred positions, animals on their laps. Neji leaned against the headboard, Lee was against the footboard, and Tenten was curled up on her side in the middle. They began to channel their chakra through the animals, acclimating them to the feel of it and communicating everything that they knew about human world and human language into their bodies. The animals wouldn't able to speak human, but they would be able to understand them, whatever language that their owners were speaking. Hours passed without any of them breaking focus. At dinnertime, Lupin knocked gently on the door, and all them snapped out of their trance.

"Come in!" Tenten called, rubbing her eyes wearily. Bonding took a lot of chakra, and they had been at it for a long time. In her lap, Thunder looked up at her with a spark of intelligence in his eyes. He mewed and batted at her hand with one paw when she didn't immediately begin to pet him. Lupin walked into the room and raised his eyebrow at the sight of all three ninja. They looked completely exhausted, even Neji, who had already slightly registered himself in Lupin's mind as invincible.

"Are you three alright?"

"We're fine," Tenten waved his concern off with one hand, stroking the kitten with the other.

"Chakra bonding takes a lot of strength." Neji said quietly, spreading his falcon's wings out to examine her feathers. They appeared to be clean and strong. The bird didn't take well to this, however, and snapped at him with a strong beak. He quickly released her.

"Bonding will take a few days," Lee said, his voice unusually subdued. His chakra was odd, in that he couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, only taijutsu. Because of this, chakra bonding, with the precision needed, took more energy and focus from him than it did for either of his teammates.

"Hm. So, you'll be occupied for awhile then? Sorry for disturbing you." Lupin was about to leave when he heard the bed creak. The ninja had gotten off of the bed, pets in tow.

"If we don't stop in between stages, we'll pass out from chakra drain." Neji stretched, managing to reach backward and touch the floor. Lupin felt his back ache just watching him. "So it's for the best that you stopped us." Lee had managed to reach just as far as his teammate, but then flipped his legs up to stand on his head. It wasn't long before he was standing on just one hand. Tenten placed Maito's bowl on top of his feet, where it stayed, perfectly balanced.

"Lee's really flexible," Tenten said proudly, setting Thunder on top of her head. "Let's go. I'm hungry." She led the group down the hall to the common room, grinning like a maniac.

"Yosh, Tenten sometimes acts strangely when she's hungry." Lee said quietly to Lupin, hoping to keep the girl from hearing. It didn't work. She whacked him on the back of the head, earning what sounded like a snicker from Thunder, and the turtle equivalent of a sigh from Maito.

"Right, well, we're here." Neji looked up, then swiftly grabbed Lee and Lupin and dragged them over the to the darkest corner of the room. Tenten followed.

"Neji, what's up?" She hissed, pulling the kitten off of her head incase Neji had sensed danger.

"He's in here. Harry Potter. He can't see us!" Neji hissed back, just loud enough for the other three to here.

"Where?" Lee asked, tucking Maito into his pouch. Neji gently shooed his bird onto the back of one of the chairs at their table.

"Over there." Neji pointed. They followed the line of his finger, and did see the black-haired boy at the table that he had been at earlier that day, sitting with the red-haired family and the brown-haired girl.

"Yes, that is Harry Potter," Lupin nodded and took a seat. "And I'd reccomend that you three sit before you draw attention to yourself. They're distracted by each other for now, but they'll notice you soon enough." The ninja exchanged looks, then quickly sat down. "So, what do you three generally eat?"

"Yosh, all food is good!" Lee said quickly. "Gai-sensei does not believe that any food can be bad, and neither do I!"

"Anything," Tenten sighed, placing Thunder on the table in front of her.

"Anything," Neji repeated. "Just...anything." Lupin simply nodded.

"I'll get Tom to just make chicken then," The man stood and walked over to the bar. Lee rested his head on the table, lifting Maito up with one hand to place him next to Thunder.

"Tired, Lee?" Tenten asked.

"We should get some sleep after this," Neji said firmly. "We have to finish the chakra bonding and read up on this place before the school starts."

"I agree," Tenten rubbed her eyes. "And we still have to find out what Lupin-sensei's condition is." Lupin returned with four plates, holding one and levitating the other three with his wand. The levitating plates settled themselves in front of the ninja.

"Eat something. You look like death warmed over," He recieved a slight glare from Neji and Tenten, but Lee didn't even notice. He was too focused on the food in front of him.

"Idakimasu," The ninja breathed quietly before examining the silverware in front of them. Lupin sighed.

"Fork," he pointed at the fork, "spoon," his finger moved to the spoon, "and knife. Have you seen any of these before?"

"No," Tenten said flatly. "But we're usually open to new things." She watched Lee stab his chicken with a fork.

"Cut it with a knife first," Lupin unconsciously demonstrated with his own food. Surprisingly, none of the others bothered to use a knife. Three kunai appeared and were used instead. "Well, that'll work too."

Lupin quietly floated the plates back over to Tom when they were done and they all retreated to their rooms. Team Gai collapsed into their beds, asleep almost before their heads hit the pillows. Lupin, however, stayed up late, writing up lesson plans for the school year.

A/N: Usual message. Please review!!


	4. Hogwarts

A/N: Okay, since someone asked, and I forgot to answer last chapter...Sorry! . ...Naruto himself will not be showing up. Gai-sensei will be making his appearance over Christmas break...I think...Anywho...Ron's so doomed when he and Neji meet! n.n And I think that Lupin's chakra looks the same because he's completely human until the wolf takes over. And...and...and...I dedicate this chapter to Tobi. He was a kitten that I found while visiting my grandpa in Iowa. He had an infection in his eyes and was going blind, so he couldn't follow his mother to feed, and his owners had like a million cats and none of them were fixed or given injections or anything. So, my mom let my sisters and me bring the kitten back to grandpa's house and take care of him. He was getting better...like he had learned to purr and play and everything...and we had to go home, so we let my grandpa keep him. He called a few days ago to tell us that Tobi had gotten sick and died. TT.TT Tobi was my baby. I got up to feed him three times a night and watched him during the day and everything. He was only four and half months old when he died...but he lives on in Thunder! He's the reason I put Thunder in this story in the first place. (Btw, Tobi was actually named after the Tobi from Akatsuki.) And I'm really sorry it took so long to update, by school started...and yeah... Neji, looks like it's your turn to do the disclaimer again!

Neji:...Overlyinspired does not own me, Tenten, Lee, Gai, or anything else pertaining to Naruto, but she does own Thunder, Maito the turtle, and my falcon.

The next morning, the ninja were up before dawn. They met in Neji's room, since he had been the first one up, and began to read. The animals were allowed to freely roam the room. Since none of them had enough chakra to continue the bonding quite yet, they had decided to learn about the world that they had to hide in. They spent hours reading, until it was almost noon and Lupin knocked on the door. Their heads all jerked up at once.

"Come in," Neji said, head already lowering to continue his book. His falcon glared at Lupin from on top of the headboard.

"Reading?" Lupin asked curiously. He wanted learn about these children.

"Yes," Tenten said, bobbing her head slightly.

"YOSH, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!" Lee proclaimed at the top his voice, rolling backwards off of the bed. Lupin could only see his feet for a moment before they disappeared and Lee's head popped up, the book balanced on top of it. Maito had somehow appeared on top of the book, but Lupin knew better than to ask how the hell that had happened.

"By the way, we need to know what condition of yours Dumbledore-sama mentioned." Neji said cooly, still flipping through a red book. Tenten and Lee perked up at this, as did all of the animals at the sudden focus of their masters.

"Yes...well...um...uh...can I come in?" He asked nervously. The three nodded and he slid in the door, closing it softly behind him.

"So, are you going to tell us, Lupin-sensei?" Tenten asked, sticking a scrap of paper in between the pages of her book and shutting it.

"Hm..." Lupin sat down in the chair at the desk, actually sitting on it backwards so he could face them. "yes...well...only if you won't tell anyone else." Neji raised an eyebrow.

"We ninja deal in secrets. We know better than to tell one that isn't ours to tell."

"YOSH, YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH US!" Lee said, falling off of the bed again.

"He's telling the truth, even if it is a little loud." Tenten said, picking Thunder up off of the floor as he mewed. "We won't tell anyone." Lupin sighed, and leaned on the back of the chair.

"I'm a werewolf." He said flatly. "I've been one since I was five." He simply recieved a raised eyebrow from the ninja.

"That's all?" Neji asked. "Hm...all that's required is that you be contained on the full moon, correct?"

"And that I'm given some days off afterwards."

"Why is that such a big deal?" Tenten asked curiously. Lee had climbed back onto the bed and was waiting impatiently for his answer as well.

"Parents would not let their children be taught by a werewolf," he said sadly. "Almost no one will. I can't get a job anywhere. It was very generous for Dumbledore to give me the job."

"Hm...so, if you're restrained during the full moon, that's all that you'll need?" Neji seemed to be thinking deeply.

"Severus Snape will be making me the Wolfsbane Potion for those times. Have you read about it yet?"

"I have!" Lee said, waving one hand around in the air. "It tames a werewolf during their transformations so that they do not cause harm to those around them. It's fairly new." Neji and Tenten looked unconcerned at this.

"So, why will no one hire you if this potion can be made to tame you?" Tenten asked.

"Prejudice. I can't really do anything about it." He shrugged.

"Well, that's not a problem then." Lee said happily. "You are fine during the full moons, so we have nothing to worry about in our guard duties." Lupin nodded.

"Fine," Neji said, picking up a potions book. "In that case, if you're perfectly tame, it really isn't a problem. So, can you quiz us on this?" He tossed the book at Lupin, who caught it.

"Sure."

The next few hours were spent with Lupin quizzing the ninja on anything about the wizarding world that he could think of. To his surprise, they got most of them right. The ones that they didn't know, when he asked them again later, they could answer correctly. After lunch, which involved Lupin introducing Team Gai to everything on the menu, the ninja returned to Neji's room and continued their chakra bonding until dinner, after which they read for a few hours before going to bed. Most of the week continued in that fashion, execpt for two days. One was the second to last day that they would stay there. That day, Neji split up the rest of the money that was left and gave Tenten and Lee both a third.

"Here's a third of the money," He told them. "You can go out and buy anything else that you need before the school year starts. We won't be coming back here." His teammates nodded and left. Neji left as well, after a few minutes. He had a few things that he wanted to get. Christmas presents, actually. He needed one for Hinata-sama, his teammates, Gai-sensei, and Lupin-sensei. He would probably have to get something for the kids that they were guarding, but he would leave them for later.

Lee and Gai were actually pretty easy. He went into a shop that sold wizard fitness equiment and bought them each a huge set of weights. He winced at the large weights, but managed to strap them to his own legs to walk. Ugh, he would have to seal them into scrolls later. There was no way that he was lugging these to Hogwarts. He could barely lift his legs as it was. He went to the bookstore for Lupin. He found a large book that detailed specifically every magical creature known to wizardkind. Probably good. Hinata liked rabbits, but there was no way that he would be able to buy her a real one. Hiashi-sama would throw a fit. There was a toy shop around here, though...Neji found it, and found a rabbit plushie. It was grey, with floppy ears and big black eyes. Hinata liked plushies, as far as he knew. That only left Tenten...hn...what to get her...what to get her...dammit, sentimentality was hard. He scowled into space for a few moments before his eyes finally caught something. A jewelry shop...he hesitantly entered. The first thing that he saw were a number of long silver chains. Each had a charm on it, and all of them were pretty, but there was only one that really caught his eye. There was something that looked like a tiny knife on a chain. It was obviously only a decoration, but it gave Neji an idea. Tenten had helped him perfect his Kaiten, so wasn't it only fair that she have her own perfect defense? Maybe...if she could attach something like a kunai to a chain and twirl it quickly enough...it could be both weapon and shield. Now...where to find a chain?

Neji wandered around Diagon Alley for awhile, looking for some store that might possibly sell chains strong enough to use as weapons. No shop appeared to have any chains at all. Hm...what was he supposed to do? Neji continued to look around until he noticed a small street that branched off. A sign at the entrance read 'Knockturn Alley'. It looked much more dismal and seedy. Hm...it looked like the kind of area with shops that would sell chains. He wandered down the few steps that separated it from the rest of Diagon Alley. Almost immediately, he could tell the difference in the type of shops. Torture and theivery were the main themes. Hm...Neji liked this place. Seemed useful. He steped into the first shop that he saw. All types of chains were covering one wall. Most had shackles on both ends. That probably wouldn't be a problem...he could use a kunai or some chakra to break the shackles off and then open a link to attach a kunai or two. The shopkeeper was watching Neji suspciously, but he didn't look like he minded the business. His glare narrowed as Neji ran his fingers down one chain, searching for rust and weak points. That one wouldn't work...but...maybe...this one! Neji pulled the chain off of the wall and gave it an experimental swing. Seemed good. And he had plenty of kunai that he could attach to it.

The shopkeeper greedily grabbed the money that Neji offered and tucked it into a cash register in front of him. Neji gave him a glare and left. He had to go dump this stuff in his room and seal Gai and Lee's weights into a scroll. There was just no way he was hauling those things around until Christmas.Tenten was more than happy that Neji had give her the money. She had Christmas shopping to do! Neji, Lee, Gai-sensei, Lupin-sensei, and her parents. Lee would like something involving training, but he needed a life outside of training...she went to the pet shop and bought him a large bag of turtle treats. Maito, at least, would appreciate them. Lupin-sensei liked books, she thought. He was going to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher...so...a book of curses? Right, that would work. She found one that listed curses that caused illusions. Loooked interesting. Maybe he would like it. Gai-sensei...huh. What to get the weirdest and best teacher on earth? She poked around for a few minutes, wondering what on earth to get him. She finally stopped in the toy shop out of desperation. All he ever talked about was 'youth' anyway, so maybe a toy? She was drawn to the plushie section out of curiousity. Personally, Tenten loved plushies. They were stashed all over her room. To her surprise, she found a large tortoise plushie. Perfect! It was large and unweildy, so she would have trouble carrying it, but it was adorable! Noticing some random little kid eyeing it, she quickly grabbed it and ran to the counter. Selfish, yes. Did she care? Um...no. Not really.

She still needed something for her parents and Neji...hm. Her parents would probably...darn it! What should she get them?! Okay...maybe Neji would be easier...Who was she kidding?! She had no idea what to get for Neji either! Damn, this was much harder than she had thought it would be. Tenten stood, frozen in thought for a few minutes before she got an idea. On one of her more recent missions, she had picked a katana up off of an enemy's corpse. It was too nice to pass up. Neji could probably make good use of it, and it was in one of the scrolls in the bottom of her pack. Perfect! Her parents were the only people that still needed anything. What on earth was she supposd to get her parents? They weren't ninja or anything, so she couldn't give them equipment, and they couldn't speak this language, English, so a book was out of the question. C'mon, why couldn't someone make this easy?! Okay, all she had to do was think a little bit. What did her parents like? Her mom liked to garden...so maybe something from the shop down the street with the weird plants in the window?

Said shop turned out to be a plant/gardening/Herbology shop. Tenten looked the plants over. Unfortunately, since she was on a mission, she wouldn't have time to take care of a plant or find out what climate it liked or anything like that. In one corner, there was a gardening supplies section that looked pretty complete. There had to be something there! Tenten left the shop with a new pair of dragonskin (that was just weird) gardering gloves. Now her dad...what did he like? Hm...he liked...he didn't really have anything that he really liked. Gah! Why couldn't this be easy?! Tenten muttered a few curses and decided to figure it out later. She could get him some candy or something. It was about time that she headed back to the inn anyway. Thunder was probably freaking out about her being gone.

Lee had no idea what to get any of his friends. His parents were taken care of because they were ninja too, so he could just give them some of his kunai (which he really didn't use very often...or at all). It was Neji, Tenten, Gai-sensei, and Lupin-sensei that he was worried about. Well...Neji liked to read...maybe some kind of book. He wandered into the bookshop, making sure to avoid the crazy assistant from their last visit. The guy was nice and all...but Lee didn't really want the extra attention. He quickly found a suitable book. Medieval Torture Methods and Their Uses Today. Neji would be thrilled, and probably end up adapting every single method for use. Just as long as he didn't use them on Lee, that was fine. Now for the other three...Lee stopped at the pet shop and picked up some catnip and cat toys for Thunder. He'd have to make sure to hide the catnip well enough that the kitten wouldn't smell it before Christmas. Tenten was taken care of. Now he had only Lupin-sensei and Gai-sensei left. Hm...well...Lupin-sensei was going to be a teacher...so...what was his subject again? Defence...Defence against the Dark? No...that wasn't all of it...Defence Against the Dark Arts! That was it! So, what would Lupin need for his class? Defence...defence...Lee could give him some of his kunai. And write something up about ninja techniques. Lupin-sensei seemed like the type of person that really liked to learn new stuff. Lee could enlist Neji and Tenten's help for some of it. So...all he had left was Gai-sensei. Gai-sensei deserved something most YOUTHFUL! But what would be youthful enough for Gai-sensei?

After a long period of consideration, during which he recieved several glares for standing in the middle of the street and not moving, Lee finally decided that nothing here would work for Gai-sensei...wait...Gai-sensei always said that knowledge was YOUTHFUL! Maybe he could write something about...HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH! YOSH! Neji and Tenten would have to help him with that too...but they probably wouldn't mind, and if worst came to worst, he could do it himself. Happy with his purchases and ideas, Lee returned to his room.

Their final morning in Diagon Alley went much more smoothly than Lupin would ever have guessed. That morning, they were all packed and out of the inn before anyone else. They had to get on the train earlier than everyone else, and Team Gai wanted to avoid the Potter boy until school. They went to the same place that they had arrived from, Platform 9 3/4.

Once they were settled in a compartment of the large scarlet train that they had ridden before, Lupin fell asleep in the corner, his robe pulled up around most of his face. The ninja had their animals on their laps, the bonding complete. Thunder purred and rubbed against Tenten's arm, mewing quietly.

"**Mama, where are we going?**" He asked.

"We're going to that school that we told you about," She replied, scratching him behind the ears.

"**Are there mice to chase?**" The kitten asked.

"Probably."

"**Good.**" And with that, he curled up in her lap and fell asleep.

"He wanted to know where we were going and if there were mice to chase." She told Neji and Lee. "And you still haven't named your falcon, Neji."

"She hasn't asked for a name," Neji responded, quietly inpecting his kunai. "And I don't plan on giving her one if I plan on letting her go free if she decides that she wants to,"

"How long until the others come?" Lee asked, unusually serious. The mission had officially started.

"A few hours," Tenten said, already bored.

"**Chick, are you going to be alright?**" Neji's falcon asked. She was of the proper mating age, and considered Neji her chick. "**If I go for a flight?**" He rubbed her head.

"Of course. Go on." He opened the window and let her out. "You'll able to find my chakra again whenever you need to."

"**Be careful, chick.**" She ran her beak through his hair once before taking off.

"Now we wait." Neji settled more comfortably into his seat, watching Tenten, who sat next to him, and Lee, who sat across from them and next to Lupin.

The hours passed rather slowly. Lee fell asleep. Tenten talked quietly to Thunder and Neji read a book that Lupin had said that they might find interesting. Hogwarts, A History. The man was right. It was interesting. When people, students, began to enter through the genjutsu wall, Neji lightly kicked Lee's leg to wake him and poked Tenten's arm. He jerked awake and she looked up.

"People are coming." Neji said. He lightly gestured to the window. Tenten leaned across him to look outside. Thunder crawled up to perch on her head and look out too. Lee leaned forward, Maito perched on his head. His teammates knew better than how to ask how the turtle had gotten out of his bowl and crawled up Lee's head. The three sat back in their seats. Neji returned to his book.

"What is that, anyway?" Tenten asked. She lightly flicked the cover of the book, and was rewarded with a sharp poke from Neji and the sting of a chakra point closing. "Hey!" Thunder reached over and swatted at Neji's hand with the very tips of his claws, just enough that Neji would feel the sting but not draw blood. Neji gave the cat a mild glare and reopened the chakra point.

"You have not yet answered the question, my eternal rival!" Lee said cheerfully.

"The history of the school." Neji said flatly. He had been trying to read, and his teammates wouldn't leave him alone!

"**Lee, leave him alone. He's trying to read.**" Maito said from his perch on Lee's head. Lee's eyes went wide.

"YOSH! I DID NOT MEAN TO DISTURB YOU, NEJI!" Lee said loudly. Neji blinked.

"Where did that come from?" Tenten asked. Thunder mewed his agreement. Neji simply glanced at Lee before returning to the book.

"Maito said that I was disturbing you! As punishment, I will do five hundred laps of the school when we arrive!" Lee promised loudly. Tenten idly wondered how Professor Lupin was still asleep before Neji spoke.

"Lee, we're on a mission. You won't have time to run laps. And you shouldn't do things like that anyway unless you want people to suspect us of being something other than foreign exchange students." Neji turned a page.

"**Mama, there's the peoples from the place!**" Thunder said suddenly. He had climbed over Neji and reared up, resting his front paws on the windowsill so he could see outside. Now he turned to look at his 'mother' proudly. "**The peoples are here! The red-furred peoples!**" Tenten frowned thoughtfully.

"Hey, Neji, is the red-haired family here?" She asked. "Thunder sees someone that he recognizes." Neji pulled the kitten away from the window and handed him back to Tenten.

"I can't see anyone from my angle. Lee?" Lee leaned over Professor Lupin and looked out the window.

"Yosh! I see them! And Harry Potter is with them!" He said cheerfully.

"**Lee, tone it down.**" Maito said, tapping Lee's head with one small foot. Tenten beamed at Thunder.

"Awww...you're so smart!" She squeezed Thunder against her chest and scratched him behind the ears. Thunder purred loudly.

"The witch at the pet store was right. He is thunderous." Neji commented blandly. Tenten giggled. Lee had returned to staring out the window.

"Yosh, they're boarding!"

"We'll have to find them later so we can keep an eye on them during the ride." Neji turned another page. Lee and Tenten nodded. Lee took Maito off of his head. The ninja were prepared to spend the entire ride with just themselves and Lupin, but soon enough, someone knocked on their compartment door. Tenten rose and opened it. Her eyes went wide.

"Um...hi...um...do you mind if we come in? All of the other compartments are full..." Harry Potter was standing at the door. One of the red-headed family was behind him, a boy, and the brown-haired girl that was sitting with Harry and the redheads at dinner the week before.

"N...n...n...not at all!" Tenten backed up and collapsed into her seat beside Neji, who looked up from his book.

"Are you coming in?" Neji asked flatly. "Or would you rather find somewhere else?" The red-headed boy glared at Neji, but they all sat down. Harry Potter and the red-haired boy were beside Lee, and the girl sat next to Tenten. The girl spoke first.

"I'm Hermione Granger. What are your names?" She asked nervously. The pale eyed boy was slightly creepy. He was reading, of all things! He was blind! How could he read? Maybe the book was in brail...under the print...but he wasn't using his hands at all...wait...yes he was. The boy had laid the book across his lap and was running his finger along the lines of words.

"I'm Tenten Buki. This is Thunder." Tenten held her kitten up.

"Awwwww...he's adorable! I got a cat too! His name is Crookshanks." Hermione opened a cat carrier that had been on her lap, and a huge orange fluffy creature stepped out. He looked like he had run face first into a brick wall. Tenten immediately went stary eyed.

"He's cute!" Neji and Lee were trying to figure out how the hell looking at that cat would lead to the conclusion that it was cute when something squeaked loudly from the red-haired boy's pocket. A scruffy-looking rat poked its head out of the pocket, and Crookshanks immediately leapt for it. Thunder, to Tenten's surprise, followed.

"Hey! Get the monster off of me!" The red-haired boy yelled, holding his rat out of reach of the cats. Hermione dove for her cat and pushed him back into the cat carrier. Tenten took her time getting Thunder. He was too small to even think about reaching the rat anyway. Tenten would have to ask him later what was up with attacking the rat. She knew that she mentioned pets when she was bonding with him/teaching him about humans. She knew that she had told him to not attack creatures that were obviously pets.

"I'm sorry, Ron!" Hermione said earnestly. "I didn't know that Scabbers would stick his head out..."

"Keep that bloody thing away from Scabbers!" The red-haired boy, Ron, hissed angrily. Hermione nodded quickly. Team Gai was wondering how Professor Lupin was sleeping through all of this, but it didn't really matter anyway. The boy rounded on Tenten. "And keep your monster away too!" Tenten promptly glared at him.

"Thunder is not a monster. He's a cat. And you have a rat. Put the thing in a cage!" The boy gaped at her wordlessly before turning almost puce with rage.

"Both of you, enough." Neji commented, still reading. Harry shot him a look. Did the boy honestly think that either of them would listen? To his surprise though, Tenten stopped after giving Ron one final glare. Hermione quickly spoke to break the tension.

"So, what are your names?" She asked Lee and Neji. Lee shot her a blinding grin. The three wizards winced. Neji simply turned another page in his book.

"I am LEE!" He held up Maito. "This is MAITO! HE IS FULL OF THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!" Tenten winced at this. Neji's left eye twitched for a moment. Professor Lupin shifted slightly, but didn't wake. Harry, Hermione, and Ron wordlessly gaped at the odd boy. He was wearing green spandex and neon orange arm and leg warmers, for Christ's sake! Harry inched minutely away from Lee and closer to Ron. No one blamed him.

"Ah, if you don't mind me asking, what is the 'Springtime of Youth'?" Hermione asked. Or it would have been what she asked, if Tenten had not clamped a hand over her mouth right after the word 'Springtime'.

"Don't say a word," Tenten hissed. Hermione nodded, and Tenten released her. Harry and Ron had taken the hint and didn't say anything. In her lunge for Hermione, Thunder had fallen onto the floor. He mewed miserably.

"**Mama, pick me up!**" Seeing that Tenten was preoccupied muffling the girl, Neji scooped the kitten up without removing his gaze from the book. He could hear the little thing well enough, and even without the Byakugan his peripheral vision was very good. Harry attempted to once again break the tension that had seemingly settled over the compartment.

"So...who are you?" He asked Neji. The boy turned another page.

"Neji Hyuuga." Harry felt a slight twinge of annoyance well up at the boy's attitude, but didn't say anything.

"So where are you from? I haven't seen you at Hogwarts before." Hermione said cheerfully.

"We're foreign exchange students from Japan." Tenten responded happily. She was alert to any kind of signal from Neji that she said something wrong or had said too much.

"And what're those weird symbols you're wearing?" Ron gestured to Tenten's forehead protector.

"Ron, that's rude!" Hermione admonished. "They're obviously the symbol of their other school. Right?" She asked Tenten. Tenten hesitated to answer, but an almost imperceptible nod from Neji encouraged her.

"Yeah. It's our only unifrom requirement. Otherwise we just wear whatever we want."

"Really? That's wicked!" Ron exclaimed. Evidentally, his annoyance with Tenten was temporarily overridden by his admiration of a school system with no real uniforms. Tenten gave him an odd look at turned to Harry.

"You're Harry Potter, right? We hadn't heard about you until we got here!" Harry blinked, surprised to hear this. He had thought that everyone had heard of him, but it was actually kind of refreshing to know that to some people he was unknown.

"Yes, it was most interesting!" Lee agreed happily. "Especially regarding Voldemort!" All of the wizards flinched, and Ron made a strangled choking sound.

"Don't say that name! Just say You-Know-Who!"

"That's idiotic. It is his name and should be used as such," Neji commented. Silent tension filled the compartment again.

"Who's that?" Harry asked, gesturing to Professor Lupin, who was still asleep in the corner, half his face covered by his cloak.

"Professor Lupin. He's nice." Tenten smiled. The wizards nodded. "He's been helping us adjust for the past week." Silence fell again. Ron turned to to Neji.

"Must be horrible being blind." Neji raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose that it would be."

"Would be? But aren't you...blind?" Harry asked. At this, Neji's head shot up from his book.

"Blind?! I. Am. Not. Blind." Lee and Tenten promptly dissolved into helpless fits of laughter. Neji was about as far from blind as one could be! Ron turned to whisper to Harry.

"Must be in denial." Neji's eye twitched.

"I. Am. Not. Blind." His glare bored into Ron. "You have bright red hair and more freckles than any human has a right to." Ron shut up and began to turn bright red. Neji rounded on Harry. "You have hair that won't lie down and glasses that look like you've stepped on them at least twice." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Neji whirled to face her. "You have bushy hair and buck teeth. I am not blind." Ron opened his mouth to start yelling when something rapped on the window. All of them looked up. Neji's falcon was flying alongside the train. She had rapped on the glass with her beak. Neji quickly opened the window and stuck his arm out for the bird to grab onto. She did, and he pulled her in and shut the window. A mouse was hanging from her beak.

"**I felt anger from you. Is everything okay, chick?**" She asked. Neji simply nodded. There was a quiet squeak. Scabbers stuck his head out of Ron's pocket again. The falcon looked at it, dropped her mouse, and immediately lunged for the rat. Ron yelled and threw his hands up to protect Scabbers. Neji's bird slashed at his hands with her razor claws. Neji didn't move. If his bird was attacking something, she had good reason. But when Ron hit his bird, that was the last straw. The red-headed boy found himself with a thick book in the face. By the time he had recovered from the sudden shock, Neji had the bird in his arms and was gently stroking its head and spreading its wings to examine the feathers.

"What the hell was that about?!" Ron demanded. "Your stupid bird attacked Scabbers! Get a cage for that thing!"

"She will not be put in a cage!" Neji snapped. "And if you suggest it again, I'm going to blind you!" Feeling Neji's anger, the bird flared her wings and snapped her beak at Ron. Tenten and Lee felt rising annoyance as well, so their animals bristled. Thunder hissed and spat. Maito simply snapped his jaw rather loudly.

"Okay, okay!" Hermione said quickly, trying to placate Neji. "No cages! Ron, drop it!"

"But...!"

"Drop it, mate," Harry advised lowly, noticing the glint in Neji's eyes. Ron grumbled loudly, but didn't say anything. Seeing that Ron had backed down, Neji relaxed slightly as well. He picked up the book that he had thrown at Ron as his falcon recovered her mouse.

The tension that had previously been banished returned in full force, and this time, Hermione was too nervous to try and break it. Tenten was still annoyed with Ron, and Lee was distracted with Maito. A quiet hooting suddenly filled the compartment. Neji's head shot up. He could recognize the sound of a bird when he heard one.

"What was that?" He asked quietly, more to his falcon than anyone else.

"**An owl, chick. Over there, in the overhead rack. In a cage.**" She fluffed up her feathers as she said the last sentence. She hated cages as much as Neji.

"Which one of you has an owl?" Neji asked the wizards. It was probably Harry, considering that the girl had the fluffy monstrosity and Ron had the pathetic rat, but still, it didn't hurt to ask.

"I do." Harry said, surprised. "Her name is Hedwig." Neji scowled, and he tilted his arm slightly. It was his signal to his falcon that she should go check it out. She obeyed, fluttering up to the overhead rack and returning quickly.

"**Snowy owl. She's sweet. Smart. I like her.**" Noting Neji's annoyed look, the bird quickly added, "**She was happy. Not mistreated at all. Didn't really mind the cage.**" Neji nodded at this. Okay, then. He wouldn't interfere.

"What did it just do?" Harry asked, nodding at the falcon. Neji glared at him.

"'It' is a she. And what she was doing is none of your business." Neji's falcon fluffed up her feathers and glared at Harry, in a way that was eerily reminiscent of her master. Harry glared back. This boy's attitude was worse than Malfoy's for God's sake! Someone opened the compartment door. Speak of the devil...

"Potter, I'm surprised to see you here," Malfoy drawled. His face was twisted in an evil smirk. Tenten shot a look at Neji. Neji had his own evil smirk on. Oh, this was going to be the battle of the human ice cubes.

"Back off, Malfoy," Harry growled. The blond boy simply gave Harry a superior smirk and let his eyes roam over the rest of the compartment's occupants. He gave Lee an odd look, glanced over Tenten (the girl took notice that he seemed more interested in her chest than her face), and then Malfoy's gaze stopped on Neji. The two boys glared at each other.

"Who're you people?" Malfoy asked, gesturing to Tenten and Lee, but not letting his gaze stray from Neji.

"Transfer students from Japan who would have no problem making you feel more pain than you could ever imagine." Neji kept a straight face through his entire statement. It was true. This boy's attitude pissed him off. His falcon shrieked threateningly and flared her wings.

"**Chick, should I shred him?**" Neji shook his head minutely. Malfoy kept his glare on Neji, but suddenly seemed to notice Lupin.

"Who's that?"

"New teacher," Harry said. "What were you going to say, Malfoy?" The blond boy growled something completely unrepeatable and stormed off. Neji muttered something unrepeatable himself and began to stroke his falcon's head gently.

"I don't like him," Tenten growled, beginning to scratch the kitten behind his fuzzy ears. The little creature started to purr and knead Tenten's leg with his paws before curling up and falling asleep. "He's...arrogant."

"More than that," Ron said. He was still fiery red with fury. "He's such a git!"

"Ron! Not in front of a teacher!" Hermione whispered frantically. The red-haired boy made an obscene hand gesture and nothing more was said on the subject. Lee shot Tenten a sympathetic look. He and Neji had both noticed the same thing about where Malfoy's gaze had stayed when he had watched their female teammate, but Neji would most certainly not say anything about the subject, and Lee had seen how uncomfortable that made Tenten.

"**Good boy,**" Maito said approvingly. Lee was smart about some things, including some of other people's emotions. And he was a good boy. He was nice. He took care of his friends. If Maito couldn't be free in the wild, the next best thing was being with this boy.

Silence fell over the teens again. Neji returned to his book, his falcon perched protectively on his shoulder. Tenten tried to read the book too, but found that Neji could finish the pages before she was even halfway done with the first one, and soon gave up on that. She simply leaned her head on Neji's shoulder, idly stroking Thunder and zoning out. Lee listened silently to an eager discussion of Quidditch between Harry and Ron. Hermione pulled out a book of her own and began to read. This silence continued for awhile, about forty-five minutes, and then the train screeched to a halt. Hermione looked up from her book and frowned.

"We can't be there yet." Harry and Ron stopped their discussion and looked around, seeming very confused. Tenten lifted her head off of Neji's shoulder and tried to look out the window.

"Guys, look." She shakily pointed at the window, Thunder cradled protectively against her chest. Neji and Lee's head snapped around to see what Tenten was pointing at. The window had iced over. Lee shifted Maito from his head to his hand with a worried frown. Neji closed his book.

"Stay away from the windows," Neji said firmly. Everyone's breath suddenly condensed on the air as the temperature in the compartment lowered by several degrees. Neji's falcon hunched her wings. Suddenly, a skeletal hand reached around and began to slowly open the compartment door. The ninja swiftly stood and shoved the wizards down the seats and away from the door.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" Ron demanded.

"Shut up." Tenten shot back. "We can probably handle whatever's coming better than you."

"And why's that?" Harry demanded.

"...Our school did its best to prepare us for...attacks...from things." Lee said, uncharacteristially serious. The wizards stayed silent as the door opened fully. A cloaked figure stood at the door, its face hidden by its cloak. Neji activated his Byakugan and found black chakra. He took a half step back. This wasn't natural, or at least it didn't feel that way. The dark cloaked-figure moved further into the room, looking like it was searching for something...and then it began to make a sucking noise. All of the animals in the compartment immediately flared up, except for Ron's rat, which retreated into his pocket, squeaking pathetically. The thing continued to make the sucking noise, and focused in on Harry and Neji. Immediately, all of the teens, especially Neji and Harry, begin to feel mind-numbing cold come over them. They felt that the world had become a place of misery. Neji's eyes went wide. His father...dying...He heard his father screaming from the pain of his activated curse seal before he fell backwards. He vaguely felt Lee catch him, and saw Harry crumple over in the seat, and saw Lupin shoot to his feet and point his wand at the creature, and it left. And then there was blackness.

Lee had felt every speck of cheerfulness leave him when the creature entered the compartment. He had felt everytime in his entire life that people had told him that he would never be a good ninja. He had felt Gaara crush his arm and leg, and almost his whole life. It felt like some sort of genjutsu, and Lee was about to ask Neji what it was when his teammate fell backwards into his arms. Lee quickly pulled him close. He didn't know what was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry slump over in his seat. Behind him, Tenten whimpered quietly. He didn't know what she was feeling, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to, either. Professor Lupin suddenly seemed to come awake and shot to his feet, drawing his wand and firing something at the creature after saying,

"None of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks! Go!"

The thing left, and warmth immediately returned to the compartment. Professor Lupin turned to the unconscious Harry. He checked the boy's pulse, thought, and then left him alone.

"Professor, should we be doing anything?" Hermione asked timidly. She and Ron were focused on Harry, but as they heard a weak groan from somewhere across the compartment and looked up, they saw Lee holding a limp Neji, who was beginning to stir slightly. Lupin shook his head.

"They need to wake up on their own. Lee, you can put him down if you want." Lee shook his head and sat down, Neji practically curled in his lap. Tenten worriedly perched beside Lee, watching Neji. Neji's falcon landed on her limp master's shoulder and nuzzled his hair. Thunder mewed and pawed at Tenten.

"**Mama, the thing was scary! I don't wanna see it again!**" She shushed him and gently stroked his fur. The kitten curled up in Tenten's lap, slowly falling asleep under the soothing warmth of her hand. Maito nudged Lee's hand and began to whisper comfortingly to his boy, who was clearly worried about his teammate.

"Is Neji...okay?" Hermione asked. Ron refused to say anything, focused on Harry.

"He should be," Lupin reclined in his seat. "Harry should be too. Just let them rest." The conscious ninja nodded. Lee rested his chin on top of Neji's head tiredly. Whatever that thing was, it had taken a lot of strength out of him. Tenten continued to stroke Thunder's head.

"So, what was that?"

"A Dementor. They guard the wizard prison of Azkaban. They were searching the train for Sirius Black." Harry suddenly stirred and woke up. He tried to sit up, but Lupin carefully pushed him back down. "Not too fast Harry." The boy blinked and sat up, more slowly this time.

"Who screamed?" Harry demanded. The conscious occupants of the compartment exchanged looks.

"What are you talking about, mate?" Ron asked. "No one screamed." Harry blinked confusedly.

"Wha? But...but I heard a woman scream!" Harry insisted.

"No one screamed, Harry," Hermione said quietly. She pulled Crookshanks onto her lap and nuzzled into his fur, seeking comfort. Harry frowned, seemingly thinking this over, when he noticed Neji in Lee's lap, unconscious.

"What happened to him?"

"Same thing that happened to you, mate." Ron said, scratching Scabbers behind the ears. Neither Thunder nor Crookshanks seemed inclined to try and eat him at the moment.

"Professor, what was that thing?" Harry asked. Lupin explained what Dementors were again. "Oh. What did they do to us?"

"Dementors feed on emotion. The more horrific memories in a person, the more affected that person is by a Dementor's prescence. They suck the soul out of people. You stay alive, but you're a shell. It's a fate worse than death."

"So...part of our souls are gone?" Tenten asked, feeling sickened.

"...Not really. You'll feel better soon. Here, this should help." Lupin pulled a large bar of chocolate out of the pocket of his robes and broke it into pieces, handing it to everyone in the compartment.

"Chocolate?" Lee asked, eating it anyway.

"It makes things better. Really." Lupin said, eating a small piece himself. "Give this to Neji when he wakes up." Lupin handed Tenten the rest of the chocolate bar. "I have to have a word with the conductor." He left the compartment, leaving the teens in silence. The silence continued for a few minutes until Neji stirred slightly, opening one eye.

"Neji!" Tenten said happily. He was awake!

"What happened?" Neji asked quietly, inching himself off of Lee's lap until he was sitting in between his teammates. His falcon sat on his shoulder, running her beak through his hair.

"**I was worried about you, chick. You were in pain. I'm sorry I couldn't help.**" Neji shook his head slightly and rubbed her head.

"Nothing you could've done anyway. I didn't even know what that thing was," Neji murmured to her.

"What'd you say?" Ron asked curiously. Neji shot him a 'look', and the red-haired boy shut up.

"No one answered my question. What happened?" Neji asked again.

"Dementor." Tenten said.

"Explain." Neji said flatly. Names didn't help that much. The other five teens repeated what Professor Lupin had told them. Neji stayed silent. The silence continued for a few more minutes until Hermione looked out the window.

"We're getting close. We should probably put on our robes now." The six teens all changed silently. Neji and Tenten left their headbands where they were on their foreheads, and Lee moved his up from his waist to his forehead, tying it tightly so that it wouldn't fall off.

"You're going to wear those at the school?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Of course," Tenten said cheerfully. She shifted Thunder to her shoulder as the train came to a stop. "Now, let's go." They all exited the train. The ninja stayed close together, but lost Harry and the other two in the crowds. Oh well. They would catch up with him at the school. The three ninja claimed a carriage, which was being pulled by one of the thestrals that Hagrid had showed them upon their previous visit, and settled in for the ride.

"Neji, what happened to you with the Dementor?" Tenten asked once they were sure that they were alone. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, my eternal rival! It would be horrible if anything were to happen to you!" Lee chimed in.

"I'm fine. I just...I'm not going to be able to protect him from those," Neji shuddered slightly and began to stroke his falcon's head.

"That's why we're here," Tenten said cheerfully, leaning against Neji's arm. "We're a team. We handle what you can't, and you handle what we can't." Lee grinned brightly, blinding his teammates with the sheer whiteness of his grin.

"Yosh! With our youthful power, we can defeat anything!" Tenten, for once, didn't whack Lee for blinding them and simply grinned too. Neji gave a faint smirk. Everything would be fine.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron had gotten a carriage to themselves. They settled in uneasily, still nervous from the Dementor attack previously. What if those things attacked again?

"Hey, am I the only one that thinks that there's something up with those foreign exchange students?" Ron asked cautiously.

"No, I know what you mean, mate," Harry agreed. "There's something weird about them..."

"Hogwarts has never had any foreign exchange students before," Hermione announced. "_Hogwarts, A History_ said so, and I've never read about any eastern wizarding schools. And that symbol on their headbands...and the animals...I've never read anything about anything like that! And Neji's eyes...he looks blind."

"Well, he obviously isn't," Ron snorted. "Stuck up prick. He's as bad as Malfoy! And what did that Lee kid mean about being prepared for attacks?"

"I'd assume he meant a Defense Against the Dark Arts Class." Hermione said, frowning thoughtfully, "but now that I think of it...none of them drew their wands, did they?"

"The girl," Harry started.

"Tenten," Hermione interupted. "Her name is Tenten."

"Fine. Tenten was reaching for something that was in a pouch on her thigh...at least I thought she was...I saw it right before I passed out." Harry finished.

"So she could have been reaching for a wand," Ron said.

"Probably not. The pouch didn't look like it was long enough to hold a wand." Harry shrugged. "Whatever. I think we should keep an eye on them, though."

"Probably." Hermione agreed, "and I'll try to find some stuff about their school in the library."

"Great, so now that that's settled...I'm really hungry," Ron whined.

"Can't you think about something besides your stomach?!" Hermione demanded.

The carriages all pulled up in front of Hogwarts, and all of the students gathered their stuff and entered the school in a huge wave. Professor McGonagall was standing in the entry hall, watching the students come in. The ninja didn't miss that she picked Harry and Hermione out and took them with her. Unsure of where they were supposed to go, Team Gai milled aimlessly for a few minutes before Neji got frustrated and activated his Byakugan. He was half-blind from the many spells and such laid over the castle, but he did notice the small trail of chakra that led down the hall. It was in the form of two words, over and over again. _Team Gai._

"Hey. This way." Neji led his team down the hallway, focusing to try and not let the words dissolve into the blurs of other magic. The words led them to a small room where Dumbledore was waiting for them.

"Good, you found your way here. Professor Lupin informed me of the incident on the train. Are you three alright?" His voice was kind, but his eyes never wavered from their steady stare at Neji, who shifted uncomfortably.

"We're fine, Dumbledore-sama," Neji said quietly. "We are ready to begin our mission."

"Good. I'll call you three through the door when it's time." Dumbledore left through a different door than how the ninja had entered, and they were left alone.

"Well, we are about to being our mission! We will complete it with our YOUTHFUL ABILITIES!" Lee said loudly, trying to break the silence. Maito was perched on his head. The turtle's bowl had been packed into Lee's trunk at the last second.

"Shush, Lee! Keep it down!" Tenten hissed. "We don't know if people can hear us through the door!" There was a heavy silence for a few more moments before Neji broke the silence.

"Okaasan."

"What?" Tenten blinked, turning to her teammate.

"Okaasan. Her name." Neji gestured to the falcon riding on his shoulder.

"Mother?" Lee asked. His prominent (understatement --()) eyebrows furrowed together in thought. Neji scowled slightly.

"Yes. She acts like one." He gently stroked the falcon's head with one gentle finger. Tenten suddenly understood. From what little Neji had told the team about his parents, his mother had died on a mission when he was very young. He had essentially grown up without a mother. This bird, who was just about fully grown, was filling in the empty space where a mother would normally be.

"That's sweet, Neji." Tenten said. Lee seemed to understand what the name meant in the next few seconds, and grinned. It wasn't his enormous, overly bright grin, but a much subtler one.

"**What is making my chick sad?**" The newly named Okaasan asked quietly.

"Memories." Neji muttered.

"**Ah. You know I'm here for you.**"

"I know."

"**Good boy.**" Okaasan churred softly.

Tenten quietly opened the door that Dumbledore had left from, and her eyes went wide. She beckoned Lee and Neji over. The boys joined her until they were all watching in stepladder fashion. Tenten was on the bottom, Neji above her, and Lee on top. They were hidden behind a small curtain, so no one could see them, but at the angle they were at, Team Gai could see the whole room. Well, it wasn't really a room so much as a hall. A really, really, really, really big hall. The ceiling was charmed to looked like the outside sky, which caught their attention right away. There were four large tables that took up most of the room, and in front was one table placed perpendicularly to the others. Dumbledore and the other teachers were sitting there. Neji picked out Harry at the table furthest away from their room. Dumbledore stood in front of the school, smiling cheerfully.

"Now, before we being our excellent feast, I have some exciting news for all of you. This year, Hogwarts has the honor of hosting three exchange students from Japan. They will be joining our third years, and remember that some of what may be common to you may be different to them. And here they are!" Dumbledore gestured to the door where the ninja waited. They hesitantly walked out.

The boys flanked Tenten, Neji glaring protectively at the boys around the hall who were wolf-whistling at Tenten. The girl blushed brightly and held Thunder to her, one shaky hand running down his back. Lee kept Maito on his head, ignoring the stares from everyone around the hall. Neji looked imperiously around the hall, Okaasan perched on his shoulder. A number of girls were drooling appreciatively. Professor McGonagall stood by a stool with a ratty black hat.

"When I call your name, please come to the stool and place the Sorting Hat on your head. Once you are sorted, you may either join your house or wait for the others." The ninja nodded. "Buki, Tenten." Tenten swallowed nervously and walked across the stage to the stool, Thunder purring reassuringly. Lee and Neji waited where they had first come in. Tenten settled herself on the stool and placed the hat on her head. As she saw only darkness, Thunder mewed.

"**Mama, I'm still here.**" Tenten gave a shaky smile to the kitten and nearly jumped out of her skin as the hat began to speak.

"**Ah, what do we have here? A kunoichi of Konoha? Very interesting. Hey, I know that I have to sort you into Gryffindor, but do you mind if I take a look at your mind? You're the first ninja that I've seen.**" Tenten simply sighed.

"Go for it."

"**Thank you! Hm...let's see. Very loyal, you are. Very loyal, and love for your teammates.**" The hat quickly felt her rising confusion and anger. "**Platonically. Nothing romantic, but you're still only thirteen, so I can't expect too much, can I? Anyway, what house would I put you in if I had the choice? You're overshadowed by your teammates and want to be noticed for your own talents, but you don't mind taking the background. Hm...I think I would put you in Gryffindor even I could choose something else. Good girl. You should do well in life.**" A rip near the hat's brim opened, and the hat yelled.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Tenten stood removed the hat, offering a shaky grin to first Lee and Neji and then to the cheering Gryiffindor table. She stepped a little ways away from the stool to wait. No way she was going down among all of those wizards by herself, proficient kunoichi or not.

"Hyuuga, Neji." Professor McGonagall announced. Neji gracefully walked up to the stool, somehow managing to look imposing, and ignoring the whispers that were circulating around the room that he was blind. He took a seat and placed the hat on his head, shifting Okaasan to his lap as he did so.

"**Hm, another ninja. Much darker than your female teammate, aren't you?**"

'Get on with it!' Neji mentally snapped. He wanted to move on.

"**Temper, temper, child.**"

'I swear, if you ever call me a child again, I will personally cut you to ribbons and scatter your pieces to the winds!'

"**Temper, Neji. Anyway, do you mind if I probe around a little bit in this fascinating mind of yours?**"

'As a matter of fact, I do. Stay out of my head!'

"**Just a little bit? Please?**"

'...Make it fast and stay out of my particularly personal memories.'

"**Good! Now, let's see this mind of yours...hm...dark, aren't you? Very dark...very loyal. You'd die for your teammates.**"

'Of course I would. Most shinobi would, that isn't special.'

"**And look at this cousin of yours! Sweet little thing. Hinata, is it? And she's forgiven you for almost killing her?**"

'I thought I told you to stay out of my personal memories!'

"**I know, I know. You lost your father...and your mother? I pity you.**"

'I don't need your pity. Just 'sort' me already! I don't need a psychoanalysis.'

"**Yes, yes. Sorry. Protect that cousin of yours, and this 'Naruto' boy that I see in your mind, and those teammates of yours.**"

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat suddenly yelled. Neji stood, practically ripped the hat off of his head, and stalked over to where Tenten waited. Okaasan fluttered back up to rest on his shoulder.

"Rock Lee!" Lee bounced up to the stool, grinning broadly. He plopped himself down, Maito cradled against his chest. The hat perked up slightly.

"**Now, aren't we cheerful?**"

'I have no reason not to be. I am to be sorted into Gryffindor, correct?'

"**Correct, but do you mind if I poke around in your head a little?**"

'Not at all!'

"**Thank you! Now...hm...hard-working, aren't you? If I had the choice, Hufflepuff might be the place for you...but this fire...and passion...and courage! Such courage! Maybe Gryffindor is right for you! Take care of your teammates, alright?**"

'Of course!'

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table practically screamed its joy at recieving all three of the new students, and Team Gai made their way down to the table together, the boys still on either side of Tenten. The ninja settled down across from Harry and his friends, and Dumbledore stood.

"Tuck in!" He sat back down again, and huge platters of food appeared on the table. Team Gai was relieved to see that there were a number of dishes from Konoha and the other ninja villages among the foreign foods. Ron promptly loaded his plate with food and dug in almost sickeningly. Neji and Tenten were forced to look away. Lee, being Lee, loaded up his plate just as much, but ate a more reasonable pace.

"What is this?" Neji asked, gesturing to a plate of something green that vaguely resembled vomit. Hermione gave him a blank look.

"Spinach." Neji stared at it for a few moments before returning to the rice and curry that was on his plate. It was normal curry, unlike what Lee had piled on his plate. The smoking black glob greatly resembled the famed 'Curry of Life' that Lee loved. It was spicy enough that a taste had knocked Neji out once. For awhile, the ninja had to spend most of their energy fending off questions from curious witches and wizards. Within a few minutes, though, Neji had death-glared all of the curious people into silence...

"So...ah...what's your school and home like?" Hermione asked.

"Much different from here." Neji commented.

"Anything else?" Harry asked.

"Of course."

"An't'ng you'r gon' te' u'?" (Anything you're gonna tell us?) Ron asked.

"Eventually," Neji responded. His teammates stayed out of the conversation. Neji knew how to handle such things better than the other two. After awhile, the food vanished from the table, and Dumbledore stood.

"Now, goodnight everyone! Get rest for your first day of classes!" The houses all stood and filed up to their respective common rooms and dormitories. Team Gai followed Harry and his friends up to the seventh floor of the school until they reached a portrait of a particularly fat lady.

"Password?" She drawled. A red-head that looked to be related to Ron pushed his way through the crowd.

"The password is Kaiten!" He announced. Some whispers passed through the group about what an odd password it was, but everyone entered the common room anyway. Team Gai was smirking. There was no way that they would be able to forget this password.

"We'll talk in the morning, right?" Tenten asked. "Before breakfast?" Neji and Lee nodded before following Harry and Ron up to the boys' dormitories.

The trunks were already in the dorm room, each trunk at the foot of a bed. Neji dug through his trunk until his found the loose-fitting pants and shirt that he used to sleep. He also unwound the bandages from around his arm to wrap around his forehead so he could remove his headband without everyone seeing the Hyuuga curse seal. He changed quickly and collapsed onto the bed. Okaasan perched on the headboard.

"**Good night, chick.**"

"Good night." Lee, Harry, Ron, and the other three boys collapsed into bed shortly after Neji did. They were asleep before their heads touched the pillows.

A/N:...So...what do you think?! REVIEW!...n.n


	5. Classes Begin

Disclaimer:...If I owned Naruto, I would already be working with J.K. Rowling to try and make a crossover...and the manga would be full of Team Gai and Akatsuki...and be rated 'NC-17'...nn Yeah...so...yeah, one of Team Gai would normally be saying the disclaimer, but they're busy with schoolwork...and for all you people who told Okaasan to peck me if I didn't update quickly...:holds up bandaged hands: OW! THAT HURT!! (And made it hard to type! Stitches make it hard to move your hand, you know! . )

BEGINSTORYBEGINSTORYBEGINSTORYBEGINSTORYBEGINSTORY

The next morning, Team Gai woke early, at about five o'clock. The sun hadn't even risen. It seemed to be a reflex from them to rise that early...actually, it was really habit. Normally, their training began at dawn. Lateness was punishable by fifty extra laps, so they made sure to arrive on time at all times. Just because they were at a school didn't mean that their habits would change. It didn't work that way for anyone, especially ninja, whose lives relied on instincts and habit. They quickly dressed and met in the common room. The fire was still crackling cheerfully, which made them curious, but it didn't really matter.

"So, how'd you two sleep?" Tenten asked sleepily. Thunder was on his back in her lap, purring happily. She was scratching his belly gently.

"Nightmares," Neji muttered. Okaasan was sitting on his shoulder, head tucked under one wing. She was still tired.

"I heard you during the night," Lee said, sounding completely serious. Maito was sitting on one knee. He was curled inside his shell, completely asleep.

"Sorry," Neji sighed, rubbing his temples quietly. "I didn't mean to disturb you. The wand was bringing up memories." He held up the, according to him, cursed, piece of wood and gave it a baleful glare.

"It is quite alright, my eternal rival! We will work through these problems together with the POWER OF YOUTH!"

"**Lee, use the 'Power of Youth' a little more quietly, please**," Maito grumbled. He lightly nipped Lee's hand and retreated back into his shell. "**'M tired,**"

"I apologize," Lee said quickly. "I did not mean to disturb you!" He received a tired thought for him to shut up before Maito went back to sleep.

"So, what's our plan?" Tenten asked, leaning back in her cushy armchair with a blanket around her and Thunder.

"We attend our classes as whatever our schedule specifies. Remember, on Divination, you two are on your own. I'm with Hermione in Arithmancy."

"Great, so what do we do until breakfast?" Tenten asked.

"It's a horrific hour, we can't really train here, and we might wake someone up if we do anything too odd. I'm going back to sleep." Neji draped a thick blanket over himself and fell asleep almost instantly, Okaasan still asleep on his shoulder. He and Lee were sharing the couch, and with Neji asleep, his teammates quickly copied him. Neji and Lee were leaning on opposite arm rests of the couch, and Tenten was curled up in her armchair, head on the arm rest closer to her team and her hair down. Thunder was purring contentedly, curled into a warm ball of fur.

Team Gai woke at about seven that morning. The earliest risers of the Gryffindor population were starting to come down to the common room to prepare for breakfast or quickly finish homework that had been left uncompleted over the summer. Team Gai had folded the blankets that they had dragged out of the dormitories and piled them neatly on the stairs to go up. Harry and his friends had come downstairs at about eight. The six teens headed down to the Great Hall together, Harry and Ron ignoring Neji easily. They didn't like the Hyuuga boy, and they didn't plan on even trying to like him. Lee was bouncing along, as usual, Maito somehow managing to stay balanced on his head. Hermione was practically interrogating Tenten on life back at her own home. Tenten was shooting frantic looks at Neji to save her, which her teammate was very amused to ignore. The Great Hall was crowded, as most of the school was there, as expected, but it didn't take long for them to find seats at the Gryffindor table. Harry and Ron were shooting death glares at Malfoy, who was doing an exaggerated impression of someone fainting.

"Bloody git!" Ron hissed. "Don't worry about it Harry, he's just being an idiot."

"Yeah," The dark-haired wizard frowned down at his breakfast. Neji and his teammates watched them from across the room. Ninja had to be proficient in lip-reading, and Team Gai wanted to know what exactly was being said. Neji immediately bristled. They weren't just insulting Harry.

"Hey, Neji, you know to ignore the idiots." Tenten said carefully.

"Knowing to do something and being able to do it are two different things," He responded, wishing that Okaasan was there. She had gone for a flight and hunting trip as the teens had come down for breakfast. Lee patted Neji on the shoulder, unable to talk through a mouth full of eggs. Harry and his friends looked over at Neji as he began to mutter things that a thirteen year old should never have known about.

"Ah, what's wrong?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"He's just being himself," Tenten said with a sigh. "Pass the toast please." Ron obeyed with a nervous glance at Neji, who was still glaring at Malfoy looking like he wanted him to drop dead. This, of course, was a feeling was that Harry and his friends shared daily. It didn't mean that Harry and Ron were starting to like Neji. Of course not. The whole school looked up at the entrance of the mail owls, Neji looking specifically for one bird that didn't appear. She was still out hunting. Professor McGonagall walked down the length of the Gryffindor table, passing out schedules. She handed Team Gai and Harry and co. their schedules before moving on. Ron looked over at Hermione's schedule.

"Hey, Hermione, they've got you down for too many subjects! You've got like ten subjects a day!"

"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

"But look at this morning! Nine o'clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good! How're you supposed to be in three places at once?"

"_Be a ninja_," Tenten giggled. Neji smirked at her and Lee grinned broadly.

"_Be Naruto_," Neji replied. Team Gai exchanged looks before Tenten and Lee fell into helpless fits of laughter. Neji simply smirked.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Harry asked. Ron left a grateful Hermione alone, wondering what was going on.

"N...n...nothing!" Tenten panted, still laughing. Harry looked over at Neji's schedule subtly (or so he thought).

"I see you," Neji said, examining a tray of bagels on his other side. Harry immediately moved away.

"Sorry. You have the same schedule that we do, except you're taking Arithmancy instead of Divination." Neji simply nodded.

"Hey, Lee and I are taking Divination!" Tenten said cheerfully. She handed Hermione her schedule when the girl reached for it.

"This is neat! We actually do have the same schedules! All of us!" She added when she saw Lee's.

"YOSH! THAT IS MOST YOUTHFUL!" Lee exclaimed. Neji and Tenten calmly ignored him, steadily eating their breakfast

"**Mama! I'm hungry!**" Thunder announced, attempting to climb onto the table. Tenten lifted him the distance, grinning as he almost fell onto her plate.

"Here. Try this." Tenten dangled a slice of bacon in front of his nose. The kitten immediately snapped at it.

"**I like it! Can I have more?**" Tenten dropped a few more pieces of bacon in front of him and let him eat.

"You don't have issues with your cat eating off of your plate?" Hermione asked. She was eyeing Thunder with slight disgust. Tenten blinked.

"Why would I? He's clean."

"_I don't think they have the same definition of 'hygienic' that we do,_" Neji commented. Ninja, due to their very profession, were used to all kinds of gore and blood and filth. Thus, Thunder, who had been bathed by Tenten before they had left Diagon Alley, certainly fit the ninja definition of clean and hygienic.

"But he's a cat!" Ron protested. "They aren't that clean,"

"Thunder is." Tenten snapped. "And it's not like he's eating off of your plate, so shut it!" Ron went silent, glaring at Tenten. Harry and Hermione looked worriedly at the pair, noticing with some confusion that neither Neji nor Lee seemed very worried about the impending fight.

"Tenten, knock it off. We should get going." Neji stood and swung his leg over the bench to leave. They had to return to the dorms to get their books before their first class. Before Lee and Tenten could copy him, however, a huge man that was probably taller than Neji, Lee, and Tenten on each other's shoulders appeared. A dead creature was swinging from one of his hands.

"You three all have my class, don't yer? I got sommat real special planned. Real special." His eyes flicked over to the ninja. "Yer the new kids." Neji nodded.

"We're in your class with them." Tenten gestured to Harry and his friends.

"Well, that'll be great, then. You'll all get to see wha' I planned." The ninja nodded. The huge man left, leaving Harry and co. and Team Gai together.

"That's Hagrid." Hermione said, not knowing that Team Gai had already met him. "He's the groundkeeper. He teaches Care of Magical Creatures."

"They announced him last night." Tenten commented, remembering how thrilled Harry and his friends had looked at the announcement that Hagrid was going to be a teacher.

"Yeah." Ron nodded enthusiastically.

"But I wonder what Hagrid has planned for later," Hermione said, sounding nervous. "I mean...his version of great...well...you'll probably see." Team Gai exchanged quick looks before standing.

"We should get our books before class starts." Neji said. He still wished Okaasan was there, but she had sent him a quick thought that she had found a warren of rabbits and would be back later in the morning.

"Right. Let's go." Tenten grinned happily and followed her teammate out of the hall, grabbing Lee and ignoring the stares of the male students as she went. Harry and co. exchanged quick glances before following them. Something about these people was...off...just...off. The six teens grabbed their books and parted, Neji heading down to Arithmancy, Hermione heading to the bathroom and saying she would catch up with them later, and all of the others heading for Divination.

**CHANGEOFVIEWCHANGEOFVIEWCHANGEOFVIEW**

**(Neji's POV)**

Neji laboriously hiked up the stairs to the Arithmancy classroom. It wasn't very hard work for any seasoned shinobi, but the distinct lack of chakra that he could use was frustrating. The large bag of books didn't bother him either. He had carried much heavier things at much higher speeds. When he finally reached the Arithmancy classroom, there were a few other students waiting outside the door. A couple of other Gryffindors that he didn't recognize, or even care about, a bunch of Ravenclaws, a few Hufflepuffs, and even a couple of Slytherins. Before long, Hermione, panting and tucking something under her shirt, arrived.

"Hello, Neji." She said. He nodded to her, and looked away, wondering when the teacher was going to show up. Socializing really wasn't his thing at all, under any circumstances, and especially not with this witch (not to insult her, it was what she was) trying to speak to him about things he either didn't know about or didn't care about at all. Hermione attempted to keep a conversation going, but quickly gave up. Neji's whole aura was practically screaming that he wanted to be left alone, and she didn't want to anger him. He seemed touchy enough when he wasn't actually angry.

"Hello class! Good morning!" A short man bounced up to his class, grinning broadly. "Go on in!" Neji flinched as he entered the room. Dear gods, if this man was like Gai-sensei, he was going to go insane before this week was over. The class filed in quietly, taking their seats. Neji made sure to take a seat in the back of the room. He needed to be able to get out if something came up, and in the back, he would be able to fully use his Byakugan. Hermione gave him an odd look, but didn't comment as she walked by and claimed the front and center seat. The teacher took his place at the front of the room.

"Hello, class. I am Professor Vector. We are here to study Arithmancy, the prediction of the future through numbers." Neji involuntarily tensed. Prediction...of...the...future? As in... Destiny? Oh, life seemed intent on screwing with him. (A/N: No pun intended here. I know his name means 'screw'.).

Professor Vector continued speaking, but Neji buried his face in his folded arms and swallowed several times to keep himself from throwing up. Fate...Destiny...could he have chosen a worse class?

**CHANGEOFVIEWCHANGEOFVIEWCHANGEOFVIEW**

**(Tenten/Lee/Harry/Ron/Hermione POV)**

Tenten, Lee, and Harry and co. (Hermione had caught up with them after the first flight of stairs) were hopelessly lost in the enormous castle. They were looking for the tower where Divination was held, but the endless halls and corridors and staircases had them trapped. Tenten and Lee could have found their way out...but that would have involved chakra-increased speed and such...and the students weren't allowed to see stuff like that. Ron finally sighed.

"Hey, can't we just ask one of the portraits? This is stupid." Lee's eyes went wide.

"The portraits here can interact?! THAT IS MOST YOUTHFUL!"

"Lee, shut up." Tenten said flatly. Thunder mewed his agreement from Tenten's head. Harry and his friends stared blankly at Tenten's apparent disregard for her teammate's feelings, but Lee was bouncing along as usual, not appearing upset at all. Maito was on his head. Hermione walked up to the first portrait she saw. It was a small knight that had apparently been dumped from his pony and was struggling to lift his huge sword.

"Um...can you tell us how to get to the Divination classroom?" The witch asked politely.

"Of course, fair maiden! Let us go forth!" The knight failed to mount his pony, gave up on his sword and ran into the next portrait. Lee and Tenten gaped wordlessly before following the wizards. These paintings didn't just move and talk, they went from painting to painting!

The knight led them down a number of hallways and then up a winding staircase before leaving them in a small room with a bunch of other Gryffindors, who were apparently all waiting for class to start.

"How do we get up to the room?" Ron asked, staring up at a trapdoor in the ceiling. There was no string or anything to tug it open with, and they hadn't been taught any passwords or incantations.

"I don't know." Tenten shrugged, looking around the room. She didn't see anything, and neither did Thunder, who was on top of her head. Lee joined her in looking around the room when the trapdoor suddenly opened and a silvery ladder descended to the floor.

They hesitantly climbed the ladder to find a heavily-perfumed hazy room filled with low tables surrounded by cushions, which were presumably where the students were supposed to sit. Thunder immediately began sneezing from the perfume. Tenten laughed and pressed a maternal kiss to the top of his head. The kitten gave a disgruntled mew, but didn't try to squirm free of Tenten's hands. Maito, who was perched on top of Lee's head again, slid off of Lee's head and into his hands, curling into his shell.

"**This place smells horrible. I don't like it.**" The turtle commented miserably. "**Put me in your kunai pouch.**" Lee ran one finger down Maito's shell and obeyed, careful to not injure himself or Maito on the many kunai in his pouch. The turtle settled down for a nap, sleepily ordering Lee to wake him if he needed help with something.

The five teens settled down on the cushions around one table, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Tenten pulled a loose thread from her robe and dragged it around the table, allowing Thunder to chase it. The kitten ran in circles, desperate to catch the string, but just not quite fast enough.

"**Mama! C'mon, let me catch it!**" He begged, just as he managed to tackle the string and catch it between his small baby teeth. "**MINE!**" He hissed as Tenten teasingly tried to pull the string free.

"Yes, yes, it's yours!" She laughed. "You can keep it!"

"**Mine.**" Thunder agreed. He rolled onto his back, 'killing' the string with tiny claws and teeth. The teens watched him for a few minutes until the teacher arrived. She was a small woman with huge glasses that magnified her eyes enough that she looked like some sort of huge insect.

"Here in this room, I will teach you all to see with your Inner Eye into the future!" Her voice rose dramatically. Thunder retreated to Tenten's lap, the high-pitched loud voice making him nervous. He made sure to bring his string with him. "I am Professor Trelawny, and I know that you might not have seen me before, but I find that the hustle and bustle of the school clouds my Inner Eye. Today we will begin with the art of reading tea leaves." She turned to Neville Longbottom. "And dear, after you break your first cup, would you be so kind as to choose one of the blue patterned cups? I'm rather fond of the pink." The boy looked up at her with wide eyes and nodded. Tenten and Lee exchanged quick glances before getting up with the rest of the students and each getting a tea cup and filling it with tea.

They quickly drank it down and swilled the dregs around three times before exchanging cups. Tenten and Lee took each others' cups and looked into them. They pulled out their copies of Unfogging the Future and quickly flipped through them, searching for symbols. Ron and Harry traded cups as well. Hermione was simply scowling into her own cup, seemingly annoyed by the lack of definite results that could be offered. There was no logic to it. Everything was up to interpretation.

"Hm…….I see a blob," Tenten finally announced, looking into Lee's cup. The others snickered quietly. "It's a nice blob………but it's a blob." There was the tinkle of breaking glass from somewhere else in the room, and Neville squeaked an apology before running for a dustpan and broom to clean the broken cup up. The students exchanged a glance before sighing into their teacups. Ron looked down into the cup in front of him (Harry's).

"Hm…..I see a wonky cross……well, that means trials and suffering, sorry mate. Hm…….there's a thing there that might be the sun, so you're gonna suffer, but you're gonna be happy…….about…….it?" Harry snorted. Tenten looked over to look into the cup.

"OOO! I see another blob! This one has a pointy bit!" At this, the others burst into sniggers, trying to keep themselves muffled incase Trelawny came over to check on them.

"Ah, and what have you seen?" As if on cue, the teacher swooped in to stand behind Ron. "Give me the cup." Ron handed it to her. Trelawny looked into the cup and almost dropped it. "This is a cursed cup!" A couple of girls from across the room gaped at Trelawny.

"What is it Professor? What did you see?!" They asked.

"The Grim!" She announced dramatically. Four of the five teens blinked at Trelawny, but Ron turned an interesting shade of white, somewhere between his normal color and a pasty white.

"What is this Grim?" Lee asked innocently.

"It is an omen of death! Oh dear, Mr. Potter, I am afraid you are in very grave danger!" Hermione scoffed loudly at this, but didn't say anything. Tenten and Lee exchanged nervous glances. This woman didn't really seem like someone that was probably very reliable……….but their mission…..and this prediction……was there a relation?

The five of them left Professor Trelawny's classroom the second that the class was over. Tenten and Lee were unsettled, to say the least. Thunder felt his 'mother's' discomfort and purred, kneading her arm with tiny paws. Maito had been removed from Lee's kunai pouch upon exit from the stuffy Divination room. He was perched proudly on Lee's head, neck extended to its full length to survey the entire area. Four of them arrived at the Transfiguration room. Harry suddenly looked around.

"Where's Hermione?" The girl came running around the corner, stuffing something down her shirt.

"Sorry, I forgot something." She gave them an apologetic grin. Neji came walking around another corner a few seconds later, looking even paler than usual.

"Hey Neji!" Tenten called. He looked up. "What's up?"

"_Arithmancy. Prediction of __fate__ and the future through numbers._ _I think I'm going to be sick._"

"_You would have hated our class then. Divination, hah! That woman's such a fraud!_" Neji gave Tenten a faint smirk, and then gave Lee a glare as the boy threw his arms around Neji and Tenten's shoulders.

"You both are so youthful! Gai-sensei would be proud!" Harry and his friends could only watch as Tenten tackled Lee to the ground, playfully wrestling with him.

"What are they doing?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing. This is normal." Neji easily retied his hair, having found that it was loose.

"Really?" Ron asked. "'Cause they look a bit daft doin' that." He looked down at the two wrestling teens. Tenten had Lee almost pinned when the boy flipped over and caught the girl in a headlock.

"I give! I give!" She gasped, until Thunder dashed over to Lee and carefully bit down on the boy's hand. Lee yelped and let go, and then Tenten pounced on him, finally managing to keep him pinned. "I win!"

"YOSH! YOU ARE MOST YOUTHFUL, TENTEN!" She rolled her eyes and climbed to her feet, ignoring all of the students that were giving her and Lee very odd looks.

"_Must you act like academy students?_" Neji asked, although there was no real bite to his tone.

"Yes! We must!" Tenten practically crowed, Thunder yowling agreement.

"The bell's about to ring," Harry said, ready for the odd moment to end. "We'd better get into the classroom." All six of them filed into the room, taking seats together near the middle of the room. Harry huddled down in his seat, trying to avoid the fearful looks from students that had just been in his Divination class. Neji glanced over at Tenten and Lee, who gestured that they would tell him later.

Professor McGonagall, the witch that had spoken to them the previous evening, strode into the room. The students didn't really notice however, being that they were too preoccupied ogling at Harry as if they expected him to drop dead on the spot. The witch began to speak before transforming into a cat on her desk. Most of the class didn't even notice. Thunder did, though.

"**Mama, it's a big cat!**" He climbed out of Tenten's arms and dashed up to the front of the room. Professor McGonagall simply watched as he clumsily leapt onto her desk, tail waving like a small banner. "**Hi! I'm Thunder!**"

"**Hello, kitten.**" Professor McGonagall said amusedly. She shifted back to her human form and picked Thunder up. "Well, class, what is wrong with you today? This is the first time my transformation hasn't gotten applause from a class. And Ms. Buki, here is your kitten. Please either control him or keep him from this class."

"Thanks, sensei." She grinned sheepishly, taking Thunder from the woman's hands. McGonagall gave her a faint smile. "Well, class?" Lavender, one of the girls that had been hanging on Professor Trelawny's every word, timidly spoke up.

"Well, we just had our first Divination class, and……" McGonagall sighed.

"Which of you is going to die this year?" Harry raised his hand.

"Um………me."

"Mr. Potter! What a surprise! Far be it from me to speak ill of my colleagues, every year she has predicted the death of some student, and it hasn't happened yet. Rest assured, Mr. Potter, if you mysteriously drop dead, you will not have to turn the homework in." Harry grinned at her, and the rest of the class chuckled, reassured that Harry wasn't going to die on the spot.

Right after Transfiguration, it was time for lunch. The students all headed down to the Great Hall. Ron was still shooting worried looks at Harry, and Hermione got sick of it.

"Ron, you heard what Professor McGonagall said! No one's died!"

"But just in case…….Harry, you haven't seen a big black dog around, have you?"

"Uh……..Actually……" Harry began. Neji cut in.

"It doesn't matter. Omens are not always a symbol of something that is concrete. Besides, from what Tenten said, this sensei sounds like……."

"An idiot!" Tenten interrupted loudly. "She's…….ugh!"

"Now Tenten, insulting a sensei is not very youthful," Lee said reproachfully.

"What is a sensei?" Hermione asked. Team Gai winced at hearing how badly she butchered the pronunciation.

"A teacher." Neji said. He suddenly perked up.

"Neji, what are you doing?" Ron asked. The Hyuuga ignored the redhead, sticking two fingers in his mouth and whistling loudly. All the students turned to see what was going on, as Neji raised one hand. Okaasan came soaring through the open door and landed on Neji's hand.

"**Hello, chick. Miss me?**" Neji lightly flicked her beak.

"Of course." He retorted. Hermione looked over at him.

"The way you talk to her, you'd think she could actually understand." Neji immediately bristled.

"Neji, relax." Lee ordered, uncharacteristically serious. His teammate was likely to jeopardize their mission by wringing their charges' necks himself.

"I'm not hungry." Neji said suddenly. He stood, Okaasan perched on his shoulder, and quickly left the hall. Harry and his friends watched.

"Did……..I……..say something?" Hermione asked timidly.

"He's just being Neji. Although, if I were you, I'd refrain from comment on Okaasan. Or fate. Or destiny. Or predetermination. Or anything like that. M'kay? Kay, moving on. Pass the chicken?" Ron handed it to her, looking like he thought that Tenten was insane. Lee didn't seem to mind, though, so the group figured it was probably normal.

After lunch, they all headed down to Hagrid's cabin. Neji was already there, sitting against one of the giant pumpkins that filled the garden. Okaasan was whirling overhead. He glanced over at them in acknowledgement before returning to watching his bird. The others joined him, relieved that Neji no longer seemed like he wanted to rip someone's head off.

"Hello, Neji!" Lee called, waving exaggeratedly.

"Enough, Lee." Tenten laughed. "Neji, will you just get over here so that Lee will stop yelling?!" The Hyuuga rolled his eyes and stood, whistling loudly. Okaasan landed on his shoulder with a shriek.

"What were you doing out here?" Harry asked.

"Thinking."

"You can think inside. It's kind of wet out here." Ron added.

"I'm used to it. Lee, shush."

"MY MOST YOUTHFUL RIVAL! GAI-SENSEI WOULD BE DELIGHTED BY YOUR WILLINGNESS TO EXPAND YOUR RANGE OF THOUGHT!!"

"Lee, I said to shush." Neji said amusedly.

"Come on! Class is going to start soon, and it's our first lesson with Hagrid!" Hermione suddenly said. She pointed to a small but quickly growing group of students standing right in front of Hagrid's hut.

"Right then! Let's go!" Harry said, making a beeline for the huge man. Hermione and Ron followed him instantly. Team Gai exchanged tired glances before slowly making their way over to the students. They winced upon realizing that they were sharing classes with the Slytherins. Malfoy was complaining to his cronies about how the school had gone to the dogs, put stopped as soon as he saw Tenten. His eyes immediately went to her chest. The girl flushed with anger and embarrassment and stepped behind Lee. Neji moved over to cover the space where Tenten had been standing, shooting a death glare at the blond boy. One his shoulder, Okaasan spread her wings and made a threatening hissing sound.

Hagrid stepped up to his spot at the front of the class. He seemed very excited and proud to be a teacher. He waited for the class to settle down and stop talking (or death glaring, Neji's case) before speaking himself.

"Ah got sommat real special planned for this first lesson! Now, just follow me to the paddock." And with that, Hagrid set off. For a little bit, it looked like he was heading into the forest, but it quickly became clear that he was going around the outskirts. The class followed him slowly, moving in a large mass. Harry and his friends and Team Gai were the only ones that broke free, walking up next to Hagrid.

"Yer gonna love them," Hagrid began happily. "They're beauties."

"What are they?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Ye'll see!" They reached a fenced off area and waited for the rest of the class to arrive, which they slowly did. "Now yer all here, and I'll go get the creatures!" Hagrid jogged off, temporarily leaving the class to their own devices.

"That's oaf's teaching classes?! This school is going to the dogs. Wait till I tell father," Malfoy spat.

"Shut it, Malfoy," Harry growled.

"Both of you shut up." Tenten ordered. She and her team had perched themselves on the fence of the paddock, and she and Neji were quickly growing annoyed with these boys. Lee was just worried about how to keep them safe if a fight broke out.

"Who's going to make me, girl?" Malfoy demanded. "You?" Tenten shot him a glare worthy of Neji.

"Yes, me. Now shut up." Thunder, in her arms, had fluffed his fur up so he was fully twice his size, and he was hissing and spitting furiously. Malfoy opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when Hagrid came jogging back into the paddock, a number of chains in his hands. Connected to those chain were a number of magnificent creatures, half eagle and half horse.

"Now these here," Hagrid began, "are Hipogriffs. Beauties, aren't they?" He seemed oblivious to the fact that the whole class, except for Team Gai who was currently perched on the fence, had all taken about ten steps back. "Now, if ye'll just open yer books……" Malfoy interrupted him.

"And how, exactly, are we supposed to do that?" He held up his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which was held shut with a belt. Hagrid looked around the class crestfallenly.

"Could any o' ya open yer books?" Team Gai held up their unbound copies, and Hagrid gave them a grateful smile. "And 'ow did you three manage it?"

"YOSH! YOU MUST STROKE THE SPINE!" Lee announced.

"Tha's right! Ten points ter Gryffindor!" The Gryffindors all shot Team Gai grateful looks, while the Slytherins gave them withering glares (none of which matched up to Neji's death glare, of course). Hagrid waited for the class to tame their books and open them before continuing. "Right, now the first thing ye have to know about Hippogriffs is they're very proud creatures. Never insult a Hippogriff. It might very well be the last thing you ever do. Now, who wants ter say hello to Buckbeak?" Hagrid gestured back to a large, grey, angry-looking Hippogriff, who surveyed the students haughtily. Once again, the whole class stepped back except for Team Gai, and this time, Harry. The boy had stayed forward in an attempt to spare Hagrid the hurt feelings that he knew would follow if no one volunteered.

"Good man, Harry! C'mon now." Hagrid lightly (for him) shoved Harry forward into the paddock. Team Gai tensed. What was this man thinking, putting their charge in danger?! The ninja each rested their hands beside their kunai pouches, ready to leap in to protect Harry at any cost. Okaasan took off from Neji's shoulder and began to wheel overhead. They didn't relax until Harry had bowed to the creature and received a bow back, indicating it was safe to approach. Even then, they weren't calm for long, as Hagrid put Harry on Buckbeak's back, and ordered the creature to take flight!

"_Okaasan, up!_" Neji ordered. The bird circled once over his head before following Buckbeak around the clearing. When the Hippogriff landed with an audible '_thud_', Okaasan soared back over to Neji.

"**I could've told you that Buckbeak wouldn't let him fall,**"

"_I wasn't worried about Buckbeak throwing him off. I was worried about him falling off himself._" The whole class stared blankly at Neji as he muttered to his falcon in his own language, but they were distracted by Hagrid.

"Now then, all of you get in here and practice. You three too." He said to Team Gai. They nodded and slid off of the fence to claim a Hippogriff. After a few minor scuffles with some of the other students, the ninja had managed to claim a beautiful roan hippogriff for themselves. It immediately bowed back for all of them. The ninja weren't surprised. The only students that were having trouble were the students who didn't know how to properly bow down far enough, and since it was traditional in Konoha to bow, Team Gai was proficient. The three of them were clustered around their Hippogriff, stroking its soft feathers, when they heard Malfoy, who was practicing on Buckbeak, speak.

"You aren't dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute?" Immediately, with reflexes that actually impressed Team Gai, Buckbeak reared up and slashed Malfoy's arm open with his enormous eagle talons. The ninja exchanged looks before swiftly dashing over to stand between the fallen Slytherin and the enraged Hippogriff. They took up their fighting stances, Tenten with a pair of kunai, Neji in the Jyuuken stance, and Lee ready for anything. Buckbeak lunged forward again, and Neji and Lee both swung their legs out, each catching one of Buckbeak's and throwing him off balance and onto the ground. Tenten simply stood in a defensive position in front of Malfoy, kunai crossed.

Hagrid rushed over to restrain Buckbeak, fumbling to replace the chain around his neck. Once he had secured the creature to a fencepost, he went to see to Malfoy, who was moaning that he was dying and clutching his arm. Neji and Tenten rolled their eyes. Psh. Neji had taken much worse without as much moaning as this brat here. Tenten, too, had been battered quite a bit, and Lee, well, an arm and a leg had been crushed. Much more significant than this flesh wound. Hagrid, however, looked as though he thought that Malfoy actually was going to die on the spot. He scooped the boy up and ran toward the castle, yelling that class was dismissed over his shoulder. Hermione watched Hagrid worriedly, while Ron and Harry seemed torn between joy and worry that Hagrid would get in trouble. Tenten and Lee watched Hagrid too, until they realized that Neji was no longer standing with them. They turned to see him bowing to Buckbeak and then walking up to the creature to whisper in his ear.

"Neji, what are you doing?" Hermione asked. She had turned as well.

"Positive reinforcement is a very powerful training technique." Neji said, smirking evilly. The other five stared blankly at him for a moment, until Tenten realized what he was doing.

"Neji! You can't encourage him to attack people!"

"Why would I encourage him to attack people in general? I was simply congratulating him on the injury of the Malfoy boy, and trying to teach him how to aim for a human's vital areas." Tenten turned an interesting shade of violet-red.

"NEJI!"

A/N: So, whaddya think? Sorry this took so long……school and junk was interfering. Anyway, read and review! (Remember, reviews help Tenten keep her sanity as Lee and Neji slowly destroy it. 8D)


	6. Arguments

A/N: Hey all you people! I'M BACK! YAY! Sorry, just had some sugar, don't mind me. 8D Anyway, LEE, DISCLAIMER!

Lee: YOSH! OF COURSE! THOUGH OVERLYINSPIRED IS FILLED WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH, SHE DOES NOT OWN NARUTO OR HARRY POTTER!

Me: Thanks, and on with the chapter!

Startstorystartstorystartstory

"Hagrid's going to be in so much trouble," Hermione moaned quietly at lunch. Harry and Ron nodded. Neji didn't respond. Tenten simply shrugged, while simultaneously whacking Lee on the back of the head for annoying her.

"It was Malfoy's fault," Neji commented. "Hagrid made a specific point that you should never insult a hippogriff.

"You weren't helping the matter by congratulating Buckbeak, either, Neji." Tenten added.

"You didn't really mind."

"That's beside the point!" Harry and his friends could only watch as Neji, Tenten, and occasionally Lee dissolved into minor bickering. Neji seemed to be winning the minor argument, which really wasn't that much of a surprise, even though him being drawn into the argument in the first place was. Hermione cleared her throat timidly.

"So…..um…….what can we do to help Hagrid?"

"We can't do anything." Harry and Ron's heads snapped around to look at Neji.

"What do you mean 'we can't do anything'?! He's our friend!" Ron snarled.

"You three are children that are known to hate Malfoy and like Hagrid, thus your opinion would be discarded."

"And what about you three?" Harry asked, temper slowly rising. Neji smirked.

"We are foreign children, and thus our opinions or accounts have no legitimacy either." Tenten rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her hand.

"You say this so calmly, Neji. Sensei would say that you're being 'unyouthful'."

"Yosh, Neji! Gai-sensei says that the very SPIRIT OF YOUTH lies in never losing hope! We must press on, my eternal rival!" Lee interrupted.

"Lee, shut up." Neji and Tenten said at the exact same time. They'd had practice.

"What's your teacher like?" Ron asked suddenly. "He sounds like a nutter."

"RON!" Hermione exclaimed, horrified, "That's rude!"

"What?! They keep comparing their teacher to Lee and everything!" A loud slap suddenly echoed through the hall. Tenten was standing, chest heaving, across the table from Ron. A bright red handprint was forming on his face, and he stared blankly at the enraged girl and her snarling kitten.

"Don't you DARE say things like that about Lee or Gai-sensei. You aren't even worthy to be stepped on by him!" Thunder launched himself from her shoulder, landing on Ron's arm and digging all four sets of claws and a very sharp set of teeth into the redhead's flesh with a yowl. Ron fell off the bench with a loud curse, attempting to pry Thunder loose. The kitten simply clung tighter, only letting go when Tenten whistled loudly. The little creature dashed back to Tenten, blood staining his fangs and claws. He hissed ferociously as Tenten whirled on her heel and stalked out of the Great Hall.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked, sitting up.

"Ron, that was probably the most insensitive thing you have ever said!" Hermione started, but she stopped when a dark shadow loomed over Ron. The redhead looked up to see Neji looming over him, looking even angrier than he had earlier. Neji pulled Ron upright by the collar of his shirt, drew his fist back, and punched Ron squarely in the nose. Harry and Hermione winced as they heard the sickening crack of breaking bone. Neji, however, simply wiped the blood that was covering his hand onto Ron's shirt and dropped him, making sure to pointedly step on his chest as he followed Tenten.

Okaasan followed her boy after briefly digging her talons into his arm. Lee, however, was probably the one that affected them all the most. He simply stood and stepped over Ron, following silently after Neji and Tenten. He didn't look at them, he didn't speak to them, nothing.

"Bloody hell, that git hits hard," Ron groaned as he sat up, trying to staunch the flow of blood from his broken nose. It wasn't successful, as blood dripped from his hand to stain both his uniform and the floor. Hermione and Harry quickly stood and grabbed their bags before dragging Ron out the door toward the hospital wing. They had no doubt that at least one teacher had seen the fight, but avoiding questions would be good, at least for the moment. Hermione lectured Ron as they walked.

"Ron, that must have been the most insensitive thing you have ever said! You insulted their teacher and Lee in one breath without even thinking about it, and I'm sure that you at least hurt Lee's feelings! Neji and Tenten are probably out for your blood!"

"I didn't mean to!" Ron protested. "And besides, it's not like Neji and Tenten are all that nice to Lee either!" Hermione gave a gusty sigh.

"You know that you and I fight often, right?"

"Duh."

"And you insult me when we fight."

"Yes."

"But when anyone else insults me, you get angry."

"I guess so."

"It's the same thing, Ron. They're just a little more extreme about the whole thing." Ron blinked a few times before understanding dawned.

"Oh……………………..they're gonna kill me!" He burst out.

"They'll probably try, mate," Harry agreed.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

(Ninja POV)

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Tenten raged loudly. She threw a furious punch at Neji, who caught her hand effortlessly. "I'M GOING TO TURN HIM INTO A TARGET AND STUFF HIM FULL OF SENBON!"

"Shush, Tenten. Someone will hear you." Neji caught the next punch that she threw at him and dodged the kick that followed. This had become a commonplace routine within Team Gai, as Tenten vented by attacking Neji, who could easily stop any punches or kicks that she threw at him, and had the patience to simply stand in one place and let her do it. Lee usually was of no help, since if Tenten was agitated, he was too, and sometimes he was actually the cause of the agitation. (When Neji was the cause of the agitation, Tenten went home and screamed for almost three minutes straight into a large pillow.)

"Gai-sensei would say that we are being most unyouthful," Lee commented glumly from his spot on the floor. He had mostly collapsed against the wall as soon as he had found his teammates, and hadn't moved since. "Gai-sensei would say that we should get up and complete the mission to the best of our youthful ability." Tenten stopped throwing punches at Neji and turned to Lee.

"Lee, are you okay?" The obvious answer was 'no', but Tenten wanted to know how much this had actually hurt him. It seemed pretty major, since he wasn't bouncing around, proclaiming the 'Power of Youth' and didn't seem inclined to even obey what he himself was saying that his mentor, his idol, would tell him to do.

"I think that I cannot be near other people for awhile, but the mission comes first. We have class." Lee stood robotically, only to be pressed against the wall by his teammates, both of whom looked concerned. It was really Neji that was holding him against the wall, being that he was much stronger than Tenten.

"Lee, Harry'll keep himself in one piece for an afternoon," Tenten said. "We can take the rest of the day off. I don't think that Professor Dumbledore would really object."

"It wouldn't matter if he did," Neji muttered, ignoring Tenten's glare. He returned his attention to Lee. "Spar with me." Lee lifted his head. A glint in his eyes revealed his slight interest, but as always, Lee's dedication to the mission made him hesitate.

"But we are to stay with Harry……."

"It'll be fine, Lee! C'mon! You haven't sparred with your 'eternal rival' in forever!" Tenten exclaimed.

"We sparred during that demonstration for the teachers." Neji muttered.

"That wasn't a real spar! C'mon! A real one! Please Lee? Please!" Tenten pleaded, drawing out the last word to an outrageous length. Lee hesitated for a few more moments before posing like Gai-sensei always did with a shout.

"OF COURSE, THE MOST YOUTHFUL BLOSSOM OF OUR YOUTHFUL TEAM! LET US FIGHT, MY ETERNAL RIVAL!!" The boy sprinted down the hallway toward the main door, closely followed by his teammates.

"LEE GET BACK HERE!" Tenten yelled after him as he easily outstripped Neji and herself.

"Let him run. He needs to burn off some energy." Neji commented. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"You just don't want to waste your energy reigning him in, do you?"

"Not particularly." The pair followed Lee out the doors and down to the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore had mentioned that students weren't allowed in there at the feast, but Team Gai felt that they were an exception. That, and they had never been really good about rules anyway.

The Forbidden Forest loomed ominously ahead of them, but Team Gai entered it without fear, taking to the trees, the transition as effortless as breathing. This was what they did. This was their life. And Dumbledore be damned if he thought that they would immediately drop their lifestyle to guard a stuck-up brat that had his head bashed open as a kid. Once Team Gai had settled into an easy rhythm of movement, they each drew a kunai. Gai-sensei had taught his team this drill when they had first become a team, and they still liked it. The three of them each stood in a different tree, a kunai in one hand. Each person threw their kunai to one of the others: Neji to Tenten, Tenten to Lee, and Lee to Neji. The kunai were thrown simultaneously, and the ninja had to catch the kunai thrown to them in a different tree than the one that they had started in. It was originally a training exercise, but Team Gai had made it a game. They added all sorts of extravagant and unnecessary flips and dives and anything else that they felt like to their jumps. To most spectators, this game would seem deadly, and it would seem inevitable that one of the ninja would take a kunai to the heart or fall to their death from the trees. Team Gai, of course, did not plan on either of these things happening.

The team stayed out all afternoon, only going inside when it grew dark. They didn't mind staying out in the dark, but they had the feeling that the school was going to be angry at them, first for attacking Ron, and second, for skipping all of their afternoon classes, and third, for staying out past curfew if they chose to. With the effortless speed of ninja, they exited the forest and crossed the lawn in only a few minutes, slipping in the huge front doors with no one the wiser.

"We should go see Dumbledore-sama," Tenten said softly, stroking Thunder, who had taken up residence on her shoulder. The three were trying to stay out of sight until they could figure out what they were going to do.

"Probably," Neji agreed blandly.

"We have damaged our chance of completing the mission. We were most unyouthful." Lee said sadly. Neji and Tenten exchanged quick glances. 'Unyouthful' was just about the worst thing Lee could say about something……..he must have felt really bad.

"It'll be okay, Lee," Tenten slung her arm around his shoulders, ignoring Thunder's mew of protest as he was jolted.

"But we really should go find Dumbledore-sama," Neji said flatly. Okaasan was on his shoulder, head tucked under one wing. She slept with the sun. At sunrise, the bird would be awake and raring to go. The team moved slowly through the halls, knowing that they should go find Dumbledore, but not really wanting to. Eventually, though, they all sped up to a ninja run, wanting to simply get it over with. Team Gai was going so fast that anyone that paused to look at them would simply see colored blurs flashing by. The ninja stopped at the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"What did Dumbledore-sama say before to open this?" Tenten asked. She flicked the gargoyle's nose.

"Though it is most unyouthful, I do not remember." Lee said, head hanging.

"I don't either." Neji admitted.

"Well, this sucks. How are we supposed to get up there?" Tenten grumbled.

"We'll have to go outside and climb the tower to one of the windows." Neji said.

"You're serious. Shit."

"Language, Most Youthful Flower,"

"_Shit._"

"That's not what he meant, Tenten. Behave," Neji ordered. He activated his Byakugan, memorizing where Dumbledore's office was in relation to the outside windows. The task was made difficult by the sheer amount of magic that filled the area and made Neji see spots from the brightness, but he managed all the same. "Alright. I see where we have to go. This way." The group headed over to an empty classroom and out the window, easily clinging to the wall with chakra.

"Where now, Neji?" Lee asked as his teammate studied the wall carefully. There were dozens of windows, any of which could easily belong to Dumbledore's office.

"Over here." Neji led them along the wall, taking great care not to pass a window at an angle that would allow someone inside to see them. The last thing they needed was some hysterical first year screaming that the exchange students were walking on the wall. Their cover would have been blown sky high.

"This looks like the right one," Tenten said, perching on the windowsill. Neji and Lee joined her.

"I believe that our Most Youthful Flower is correct!" Lee exclaimed quietly, if such a thing was even possible.

"It should look right," Neji retorted, "because Dumbledore's sitting at the desk."

"There is that," Tenten admitted. She gave Neji a sheepish grin, and he lightly swatted the back of her head before rapping sharply on the window. Dumbledore turned and stood, seemingly surprised to see the team waiting on his windowsill. He waved his wand and the window opened. Tenten and Lee, who had both been leaning on the window, yelped and fell into the room. Neji rolled his eyes and followed, not even blinking when the window shut behind him.

"I heard you three were the source of a slight disturbance during lunch." Dumbledore said calmly, sitting down again and turning his chair to face the team. "Would any of you care to tell me why you felt it necessary to break Mr. Weasley's nose after slapping him and in some fashion using your animals to attack him?"

"He insulted Gai-sensei." Neji said easily.

"And Lee," Tenten added. "He was being most unyouthful." Dumbledore raised a brow.

"Unyouthful?" Tenten folded her arms and raised her chin defiantly.

"Unyouthful. Gai-sensei would have been horrified." Beside her, Lee's head was nodding sadly. Maito was cradled in his hands. On Tenten's shoulder, Thunder stood proudly. He mewed in agreement with his mistress.

"Unyouthful or not, you do realize that I will have to send a report to Tsunade detailing the incident." Dumbledore informed them. His face was serious, but his eyes had regained their usual twinkle.

"Go ahead," Neji said. "Either she'll bring us back and Harry will have no protection, or she'll leave us here, and things will proceed as they are. Either way, you lose. The question is simply how much." Dumbledore regarded him cheerfully.

"Correct, dear boy. Well, I believe that I'll ask Tsunade to let you three stay. At the very least, you'll teach Mr. Weasley a valuable lesson on tact. And for future reference, the password is Lemon Drop." Lee and Tenten both gave him sheepish grins, and Neji looked at the floor, concealing a grin of his own. "Good night, you three. Please try not to break any more noses tonight. Madam Pomfrey will have your heads."

"Yes, Dumbledore-sama," Team Gai chorused. They bowed and headed for the door. Neji was in front, and as he opened the door, three Gryffindors fell in. Harry, Hermione, and a completely healed Ron stared up at the ninja. Tenten brushed past Neji to stand in front of the students, her face rapidly turning red with fury as Thunder arched his back and hissed loudly at her feet.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING EAVESDROPPING?! I OUGHTA LET NEJI LOOSE ON YOU! BETTER YET, LEE ON SAKE!!" The Gryffindors inched slightly backwards, until they ran into something and whirled to see Neji behind them.

"Stand up." He ordered coldly. Okaasan, upon feeling the boy's rising ire, had woken, and was standing on his shoulder with her wings flared, looking threatening. In that one order from Neji, Harry, Hermione, and Ron felt more menace than from Tenten's whole rant. They quickly obeyed.

"We were coming to talk to Professor Dumbledore……we guessed the password, and we were going to wait outside until you were done……" Hermione said nervously.

"And you just happened to be crouched by the crack at the bottom of the door?" Tenten demanded. Behind her, Lee was glaring, yes actually glaring, at them, his eyes radiating betrayal. It was hard to tell if it was from Ron's comments earlier or that the three of them had been eavesdropping. In his hands, Maito snapped his jaws threateningly. He was small, but he looked like he could make each bite count. A lot.

"You three, I can deal with them," Dumbledore suddenly broke in, speaking to Team Gai. "Go on now. I'll speak to you again later."

The ninja exchanged looks, and then simply turned and left. Their backs were perfectly straight, and there was no trace of emotion in any of their faces. The animals, on the other hand, displayed every bit of aggression that their owners were feeling. Thunder's fur was so fluffed up that he appeared to be at least three times larger than normal, and he was hissing and spitting like the students had tried to kick him. Maito simply extended his long neck and snapped at them as Lee walked by, his jaws coming together with an audible 'click'. Okaasan, doing exactly what she knew Neji didn't want her to do, flew back up into Dumbledore's office and perched on a chair directly in front of Harry and his friends. When they inched back, she opened her beak and emitted the most ear-piercing angry shriek that any of them had ever heard. The various glass objects around the room cracked or shattered. Once she was satisfied that she had traumatized the students enough, and she saw the trickles of blood leaking from their ears, she took off and glided down the stairs to land on Neji's waiting arm.

"That was impressive," He murmured to her.

"**I think it went pretty well, myself,**" She chirped proudly. Tenten winced and stuck a finger in her ear.

"I think I'm deaf."

"**It hurt!**" Thunder chimed in.

"Okaasan was displaying her youthful abilities!" Lee added.

"**Drop it, Lee!**" Maito hissed.

"But I must display my own youthful abilities so I can please Gai-sensei and follow my own nin-!" He was interrupted by Neji and Tenten both turning and yelling at him.

"Shut up!"

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

Harry and his friends stood silently in Dumbledore's office, their ears ringing from Okaasan's screech. Dumbledore seemed to be unaffected as he took a seat and waved his wand. Three plush armchairs appeared in front of his desk.

"Would you care to sit?" He offered. The students stared at him uncomprehendingly. They were still deaf from the noise. Dumbledore waved his wand again, and repeated himself. "Would you care to sit?"

"Thank you, sir." Harry replied, his ears no longer ringing.

"Sir, we weren't eavesdropping, really," Hermione began, "but we were coming to see you about earlier, and we heard voices in here, and we were just going to wait outside…."

"Miss Granger, I do not mean to sound skeptical, but all three of you were crouched down to the level of the crack at the bottom of the door." Hermione blushed and looked down. "Now, what were you coming to see me about?"

"Earlier," Harry started, "when Ron……………..um………"

"When Mr. Weasley made a particularly untactful comment," Ron blushed like only a redhead could, his ears becoming redder than his hair, as Dumbledore smiled gently at him.

"Yeah, then………um……….well……" Harry stuttered quietly, unsure of how to say what he wanted to say.

"Sir, the foreign exchange students are unstable," Hermione said quickly. Harry heaved a quiet sigh of relief. Leave it to Hermione to find the right words. Ron nodded in agreement with Hermione.

"And what would prompt such a conclusion, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked.

"Professor………it's just that……..well…….Ron made one comment, and they lost it! Neji broke his nose without even thinking! And those animals……….they talk to them……and……..something's just not right." Hermione concluded, hands folded tightly in her lap. "Sir, we don't mean to be rude, but-"

"I completely understand Miss Granger; however, I must say that I believe them to be perfectly able to function without violence if they are not provoked. If I recall correctly, there have been a few incidences involving you three and Mr. Malfoy that turned unfortunately violent." At this, all three of the students averted their eyes and blushed. "Now, I believe the best course of action for all of you would be to apologize and hope that Mr. Hyuuga and Miss Buki accept it. I believe that Lee will forgive you for less. And Mr. Weasley, for your own health, it would be best if you refrained from comment regarding their teacher." Ron nodded, his ears still a vibrant shade of red.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, go on. I'm sure you all have homework that needs to be completed."

"Yes, sir." The Gryffindors chorused. They quickly left.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

"I can't believe they were eavesdropping!" Tenten hissed furiously. Team Gai had gone to the Gryffindor common room, and were studiously ignoring the curious looks from the other students, many of whom had witnessed the incident at lunch.

"Tenten, you're acting like your cat. Stop hissing and calm down. Of course they were eavesdropping, what did you expect?" Neji commented. He was sitting on the couch, watching Tenten stalk back and forth.

"You're being strangely calm about this," She snapped.

"Of course I am. Determining the proper punishment is best done with a cool head." Tenten and Lee watched as their teammate's face developed a particularly evil smirk.

"Neji, revenge is most Unyouthful," Lee said carefully, trying to dissuade Neji from whatever he was thinking at the moment.

"I am not thinking of revenge. I am thinking of how I may properly torture a civilian while remaining undercover." He responded.

"And? You got anything?" Tenten asked eagerly.

"Nothing that wouldn't get us taken off of this mission and shipped back to Konoha in disgrace."

"………And they call you a genius." Tenten sighed, flopping down beside Neji.

"Yosh, our Youthful team will pull itself together and become more powerful than ever before, using the POWER OF YOUTH!" He was silenced by a thrown book to the face, courtesy of Tenten.

"Lee, shut up. I'm tired," Tenten half-whined. She let her head flop to the side to rest on Neji's right shoulder, careful to avoid bumping Okaasan.

"Tenten, get off," Neji sighed.

"No." They were both jolted as Lee bounced onto the couch on Tenten's other side.

"Most Youthful Flower, you must keep pressing onward with the POWER OF--"

"Shut up," Tenten groaned, one arm over her eyes. "It's too late for that……."

"Tenten, it's barely past sunset," Neji said flatly. She carried on, ignoring him.

"I'm too hungry for that,"

"It was your choice to skip dinner and leave in the middle of lunch,"

"I'm too tired….."

"We've done less training today than we have in weeks."

"Neji, stop poking holes in all of my flawed whining."

"Hn." Team Gai fell contentedly silent, ignoring the stares from everyone else. They only really noticed everyone else when they all went dead silent. The ninja turned slightly to regard the portrait hole because everyone else was facing it, and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Tenten immediately started muttering practically inaudible curses and threats under her breath, until both Neji and Lee poked her in the sides at the same time. She promptly jumped and squeaked, trying and failing to somehow cringe away from both of her teammates at once. The boys were laughing quietly at the expression on Tenten's face when Harry and the others walked up and stopped in front of them.

"About earlier….." Ron began. Tenten interrupted him.

"Just a second." She turned to all of the other eavesdropping Gryffindors. "Don't you all have anything better to be doing?" Her glare was augmented effectively by a vicious expression from Neji, and the students returned to whatever they had been doing. She turned back to Ron. "You were saying?"

"Ah……..well…….about earlier……um……..I said some….stupid stuff, and I'm sorry……..?" He ended it hopefully, looking at the ninja with a sheepish expression. If he was hoping to be forgiven right away, those hopes were about to be dashed. Tenten turned to Neji first.

"_Well? What do you think? Should we forgive him?_"

"_I'm tempted not to._" Neji replied. "_But I think for the sake of mission it would probably be best._"

"_YOSH! FORGIVENESS IS BRIMMING WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!!_"

"_Neji, you realize that if we forgive them, you'll have to abandon all plots of revenge, don't you?_

"_Yes. I do. Now we should say something to the brats. They're getting nervous._"

"_How can they be brats if they're our age?_"

"_They just are. Answer them, Tenten._"

"_Why me?!_"

"_Our Most Youthful Blossom, you must use your most Youthful diplomacy skills and—"_

"_I get it!_" Tenten looked up at Ron and the others. "We accept your apology."

"On the condition that you think before you open your overly large mouth next time." Neji added. Tenten rounded on him.

"_That's not helping!_"

"_Why forgive him now if he'll just do it again?_"

"_Point taken._" The three ninja looked up at Ron, waiting to see if he would blow up at Neji's slightly insulting addition to their acceptance. The boy appeared to be attempting to control his temper, and finally succeeded, nodding slowly.

"That's settled, then. Sit." Tenten ordered, tugging Lee toward herself slightly so there was room for another person on Lee's other side. Unsurprisingly, none of the Gryffindors took the spot, deciding to grab chairs and drag them over instead. "So, about earlier…………..sorry about slapping you, Ron…….and ordering Thunder to attack you." She blushed slightly before digging her elbow into Neji's side as subtly and viciously as she could. He flicked her in the head before speaking.

"I also apologize for breaking your nose, although since it seems that it has been satisfactorily healed already, my sympathy and sorrow are very limited. I do not apologize for what Okaasan did to you, as she did it of her own free will." The other five blinked at him, but Neji stolidly ignored them, detachedly examining his fingernails.

"Well…….um………where were you three this afternoon?" Harry asked in an attempt to change the subject from Neji's odd but strangely sincere apology.

"Around." Tenten shrugged. It probably wasn't a good idea if these kids knew that they had been in the Forbidden Forest all afternoon and well into the evening.

"It was most Unyouthful of us to abandon our studies. It will not happen again!" Lee vowed dramatically, hand over his heart. Maito stuck his head out of Lee's kunai pouch to complain.

"**I can't sleep with all of this jolting you keep doing! Sit still!**" Lee nodded and rubbed Maito's small head with one thumb in a silent apology.

The conversation was stilted and awkward for the rest of the evening, Harry and his friends trying to keep from setting Team Gai off, but curious about almost everything about them. Neji was still angry from earlier, so he was no help. Tenten was slightly annoyed, but managed to stay mostly civilized, and Lee was himself, which was almost no help either. They all ended up going to bed early. At about three in morning, Team Gai arrived in the common room simultaneously. There had been no planning, no suggestion, nothing. They simply arrived with the blankets from their beds and all curled up on the couch together, each feeling comforted by the body heat radiating from their teammates. Body heat was consistent, whether it was back in Konoha, on a mission, or here, in Hogwarts, where almost everything else was different.

ENDENDEDNENDEND

A/N: Okay, I know I haven't updated in forever…….and I feel really bad about that…..I am still working on Of Elves and Ninja, so don't give up on me yet! I have midterms in about two weeks, and a bunch of projects that I haven't started yet……I was really hoping to get the incident with the boggart in this chapter…..but I couldn't quite manage it, and I thought this was a good place to stop. Anyway…..please review:puppy eyes:


	7. Boggarts

A/N: Hey all! I HAVE FINALLY REACHED THE BOGGART SCENE! YAY ME:happy dance:

Lee: Overlyinspired does not own Naruto or Harry Potter, although she wishes that she did, and she IS MOST YOUTHFUL!!

BEGINBEGINBEGINBEGINBEGIN

**(Harry's POV)**

Harry was awoken by someone shaking him and whispering in his ear. It took him a few minutes to realize that it was Hermione. Wait, what was Hermione doing in the boy's dormitory so early? Wait………what time was it? He sat up and slid his glasses on.

"Hermione? What time is it?"

"It's six-thirty," she said impatiently, "and there's something that you should see." Harry, still groggy, stared blankly at her for a few moments. "Harry, get up!" As Harry slid out of bed, Hermione hurried over to Ron's bed and shook him until he woke up. The redhead sat bolt upright, almost colliding with Hermione.

"'Mione? What're you doing in here?!" Ron hissed.

"Come on!" Hermione hissed back. "There's something I want to show you!" Ron groaned quietly, but, like Harry, slowly slid out of bed.

"What do you have to show us at six-thirty in the morning?" Harry yawned. Hermione put a finger to her lips and shook her head, gesturing to the other sleeping boys. The three snuck out of the dormitory and into the common room. Harry was about to open his mouth to ask what was going on when Hermione shook her head again. He had to stay quiet.

The girl led them to the fireplace, and then turned and gestured to the couch. Harry and Ron looked over and blinked several times in surprise. Neji, Tenten, and Lee were all curled up together with a number of pillows and blankets. Tenten's head was resting on Neji's side, and her arms had reached up to grab hold of his shirt. Neji, in turn, had one arm around her shoulders. Lee was using Tenten as a pillow, and he had one arm loosely draped by her side, which extended far enough that it was resting on Neji's own arm, keeping Lee in contact with both of his friends. All three of them were fast asleep.

"What are they doing out here?" Ron asked quietly. Harry simply shrugged, but Hermione had taken a few steps closer. She was staring intently at Neji, more specifically, Neji's forehead. His headband had ridden up slightly, and part of some odd mark stood in stark contrast to the whiteness of his skin.

"What's this?" Hermione breathed. She wanted to see if she could nudge Neji's headband just slightly, but she had the feeling that he would wake up if she tried it.

"Hermione, you should probably back up," Harry said quietly, eyes flicking between the foreigners and his friend. Hermione didn't listen. "'Mione!"The girl looked back at Harry and obeyed, taking a couple of steps back. Well, she tried, but the pants that she was wearing were a bit too long, and as she stepped back, she accidentally stepped on them and fell. Actually, the sound that she made as she hit the ground was barely audible, as she had partly caught herself and the impact had been muffled by the carpet. The three gave a quiet sigh of relief that it hadn't been loud, and then Neji, Tenten, and Lee's eyes all snapped open.

It didn't seem to take any time for the foreigners to be awake, as Tenten was already turning red with fury and Neji's eyes narrowed viciously. Lee was looking back and forth between his friends and the other students, unsure of what was going to happen next.

"What the hell were you doing?!" Tenten growled. Thunder had appeared from wherever he had been in the mass of blankets and hissed.

"Ah, um……we…….um………," Hermione stammered nervously, searching for an excuse, but Neji cut her off.

"Enough. You're wasting our time. Leave." Ron finally regained his composure (as much as he had ever had, anyway).

"Hey, it's our common room too!" Neji's glare turned to him.

"I said to leave. Now." The wizards and witch exchanged quick looks before fleeing back up to the dorms. Neji glared at them until they were out of sight before flopping back onto the couch and throwing one arm over his eyes with a tired groan.

"I hate mornings." He muttered.

"Me too. I wonder if there's a jutsu that would keep the sun from ever rising again………" Tenten mused.

"………….That would destroy life as we know it." Lee offered. Tenten whacked him with a pillow.

"I don't care. Mornings are the source of all evil!"

"I highly doubt that, Tenten." Neji said tiredly.

"Alright then, those three brats are the source of all evil." The girl leaned sideways against Lee.

"……………That I can believe," Neji responded. Tenten looked over at her teammate, and her eyes got wide.

"Neji, I think I know what they were looking at," Neji blinked at her. "Your headband……it shifted during the night……" Neji blanched, both hands going up to his forehead in a futile attempt to cover the curse mark there.

"Neji, do not worry, the power of youth will carry you through this difficult time." Lee said gravely. There was silence for a few moments as Neji adjusted his headband before Tenten spoke up.

"Lee, you sound like you're at a funeral." Neji snorted quietly and shifted himself to a more comfortable position. Okaasan was on his shoulder, fully awake.

"**You three should get dressed, chick. People will be coming down soon.**"

"I know." Neji flicked her beak lightly and sat up. "Let's go. People are going to be coming soon." Tenten groaned dramatically and flopped back down, while Lee bounced to his feet.

"YOSH! IT IS NOW TIME TO BEGIN THE MOST YOUTHFUL DAY!!" He took off running up the stairs to the dorm to get dressed, dragging his blankets and pillow behind him. The blankets flowed behind him like a cape, making him look like a little kid pretending to be a super hero.

"Ready to start the day?" Tenten asked Neji, holding one hand out. He grabbed it and pulled her up.

"No."

"Me neither."

"Good. Let's go." Neji said tiredly. He adjusted his headband once more before grabbing his blankets and heading for the dorm to get dressed. Tenten yawned once, loudly, before doing the same. Lucky boys, not sharing a room with Hermione of all people, who probably would spend the whole time interrogating her.

The ninja dressed quickly, Tenten's glares at Hermione enough to keep the girl away, while Neji was forced to threaten to break Harry and Ron's noses if they didn't shut up. Lee seemed slightly disturbed by how willing Neji really was to harm the students, but he didn't say anything. He watched silently as the Hyuuga stalked out of the room, and turned back to Harry and Ron.

"You should not have done what you did."

"What did we do?!" Ron protested. "We saw you three on the couch, and that was it!"

"You were too close. And why was your friend staring at Neji like she was?" Lee shifted slightly, getting ready to follow Neji.

"What was that thing on Neji's forehead?" Harry asked, seizing the opportunity that Lee had unwillingly given him.

"If you wish to know, you must ask Neji. Please do not."

"Why shouldn't we? Is he going to go all crazy again?" Ron asked.

"Please do not." Lee repeated firmly. He grabbed his bag of books and followed his teammate before Harry or Ron could say anything else. The wizards stared after Lee before Ron turned to Harry.

"Guess we should talk to 'Mione, huh?"

"Yeah. Let's go." The pair headed down toward the common rooms, meeting Hermione along the way.

"Did Neji or Lee say anything to you?" Hermione asked as soon as they were in earshot. "Tenten just glared at me."

"Neji didn't say anything." Harry said quietly. "We asked Lee what the thing was you were looking at on Neji's forehead."

"Well, what did he say?!" Hermione hissed. Ron leaned in to join the conversation.

"He told us that we would have to ask Neji, but then the nutter told us not to! What was the point?!"

"The point, Ron," Hermione began, "was to tell you that he and Tenten weren't going to tell you what it was. It's a personal thing of Neji's, and we shouldn't ask about it."

"Well, why not?" Ron shot back. "It's insane, and he always keeps it hidden by that stupid headband. I mean, it's not like Harry hides his scar!"

"Well, Harry doesn't have a reason to hide it. His scar marks him as a hero." Hermione sniffed. "We don't even know if that is a scar on Neji's forehead." Harry sighed from behind his friends. Another squabble. It's not like it was anything new. They entered the Great Hall and looked around. Neji, Tenten, and Lee weren't there, but they had left before Harry and his friends. Where did they go?

"Where do you think they went?" Ron asked quietly, echoing what was going through their minds.

"Where do they think who went?" A cold voice said behind them. The wizards and witch whirled, finding Neji standing right behind them. Tenten and Lee were on each side of him. The girl was glaring furiously as them, and Lee seemed determined to convince himself that they didn't exist. He stared blankly through them. Neji's glance, though, Neji's glance was so hateful that the students were forced to take an involuntary step back. His glance felt like he was stripping their every secret from them and laying them out in the open for the world to see.

"I'm still waiting for an answer," Neji said quietly. Mustering up her courage, Hermione stepped forward.

"We were looking for you. We're…………sorry we offended you, we didn't mean to, but—" Neji interrupted her with a blunt statement.

"Too late."

"B……but –!" Hermione started to protest, but Okaasan, perched on Neji's shoulder, hissed threateningly, and Hermione went quiet.

"He said, too late," Tenten snarled from beside her friend. "You just promised us last night that you three would behave."

"But that was only about Ron," Hermione said quickly.

"Only about Ron?" Tenten scoffed. "And you were supposed to be the smart one. We were extracting a promise from all of you not to eavesdrop on us. Ron was just the focus because he was the first offender."

"We weren't eavesdropping on you," Harry pointed out boldly. Neji snorted.

"Hermione was about three feet from my face. I claim the right to be offended at the apparent lack of regard for my personal space." Tenten rolled her eyes at this and subtly elbowed Neji in the ribs. He ignored her.

"Tenten and Lee were like, on top of you though!" Ron protested. Tenten's glare intensified, and Lee simply continued to pretend that he couldn't see them.

"With my permission," Neji snarled, just loudly enough for the others to hear him. Harry and his friends had nothing to say to that, not even when Neji left the Great Hall. Tenten sighed, grabbing Lee and dragging him after their friend.

"I don't think they ate anything," Hermione finally said.

"Probably not," Harry agreed, "but they didn't have to leave."

"Git." Ron said. Harry nodded slowly. Neji was definitely odd, to say the least.

"I don't know," Hermione began tentatively. "I think that thing on his forehead is really personal, or something, and that's why he's angry. I mean, he always keeps it hidden, so he's probably mad that we saw it or something."

"Or maybe he's just a git," Ron offered as they sat down. "Pass the eggs." Hermione sighed. Ron was just……………Ron.

CHANGECHANGECHANGECHANGECHANGE

**(Ninja POV)**

"I hate this mission," Tenten grumbled. She, Neji, and Lee had retreated outside, not caring that they would have to run to get to their first class on time.

"You're not alone." Neji replied. Team Gai had found a large rock and were beside it, almost hidden in shadow. Finding shadows to sit in was habit, after relying on them to survive on so many missions.

"We should not have fought with them," Lee said seriously. "They will not believe us if we are forced to talk to them for their safety."

"At this point, I don't care about their safety. The brats can defend themselves." Neji commented.

"Neji, it's a mission. We don't have a choice." Tenten reminded him.

"Hn." Neji didn't look at either of his friends, choosing to stare directly upward toward the grey sky. It was probably going to rain.

"Neji, if it came down to an actual fight," Lee said carefully, "would you protect them?" Neji shifted to look at him, eyes blazing.

"Of course I would. It's my mission." Tenten picked up on Lee's line of thought.

"But you wouldn't do it just for them?" Neji glanced at Tenten, and returned to looking at the sky.

"I wouldn't."

"They're human too, Neji. Don't they deserve a second chance? You did worse than they ever—" Tenten was cut off by Neji's short command.

"Be quiet." The girl glared at her teammate and rose to her feet.

"I can understand being angry at them, Neji, I am too. But you'd……you'd willingly leave them to die if it wasn't your mission. That's sick!" Neji rose to look Tenten in the eye, his fury building.

"And you would save every single civilian you've ever met? Half of the people we escorted you thought about killing yourself. I know you did, I heard you muttering to yourself about which weapons you would use, and when you would do it, and what you would do with the bodies."

"Those were crime lords!" Tenten protested.

"Not all of them. Quite a number of them were normal people who rubbed you the wrong way." Neji shot back. Tenten glared at her friend, the cat at her side beginning to growl deep in his throat.

"They were perverts!"

"Not all of them."

"Neji! It's not the same! These are children you're talking about!" She pointed back towards the school. "These are children that you won't defend!"

"A life is a life, Tenten. At least I never plotted to murder them, like I heard you doing about some of our other clients." Tenten's eyes started to water. The whole team just knew that Tenten passed the time on boring escort missions with annoying clients that way. Morbid and slightly disturbing, yes, but they all knew that she never would have carried out any of the things she was thinking of.

"You tried to kill your own cousin, Neji! You don't get much worse than that!" Tenten grabbed her bag and her kitten and ran for the castle, trying not to sob. She and Neji almost never fought, and if they did, they didn't really mean it. Even as she said the words, she had known that it was wrong, but she was angry, and she had aimed her words at where she knew they would hurt. A few moments later, she heard someone running after her and turned to look. Lee was running to catch up, bag in one hand and Maito in the other.

"Both you and Neji were being Unyouthful," Lee told her, "but we are going to be late for class, and we have to protect the clients. And Neji threw a kunai at me when I tried to talk to him." Tenten blinked. Neji was really losing it if he was throwing kunai at Lee for nothing.

"Did you keep it?" Tenten asked. Lee held the weapon up, and Tenten simply nodded before slowing to a walk. "Just make sure none of the students see that. Is Neji coming to class?"

"I think he will not. He did not look like he was planning on coming inside. I think he is going to that forest." Tenten bit her lip and looked back. She thought she could make out the small figure of her teammate still standing by the rock, although it looked like he was about to fall over.

"We're Team Gai. This isn't right." Tenten murmured. She turned around, planning on going back to Neji to make up with him, for some reason Tenten just couldn't stay mad at him, but Neji's words replayed themselves in her mind. Tenten decided she could most certainly stay mad at him this time. Lee and she headed to class, both of them worried about their teammate.

The next few days passed in this fashion, Neji avoiding both his teammates and Harry and co. Tenten and Lee were slowly starting to speak to Harry and co. again and trying to speak to Neji, but they could never get hold of him long enough to talk. Neji had come to the second class of the day right after their fight, and had been at every class after that, but he always managed to avoid sitting anywhere near them. All they could tell was that whenever they saw Neji, he looked paler and thinner. Was he eating? He hadn't been seen at any meals, but that didn't really mean anything. He could easily just be coming in before his team had arrived or after they had left. Tenten had already asked Lee if he thought that Neji was ever going to speak to them again, to which Lee replied with a speech on the Power of Youth that made Tenten laugh. Of course he would talk to them again. They were Team Gai, and Team Gai stuck together.

CHANGECHANGECHANGE

**(A few days later)**

Tenten and Lee sat at the table in the Great Hall with Harry and his friends. Hermione noticed that every few minutes, Tenten would rise slightly and look around, and then sit down, a slight frown on her face.

"Tenten, what are you doing?" Hermione asked. Harry and Ron turned to look at them, while Lee simply continued eating. He had seen what Tenten was doing, and knew why she was doing it. Besides, Hermione had asked Tenten the question, not him.

"I'm looking for Neji," Tenten said quietly. "I haven't seen him at any meals since we fought, and he won't talk to Lee or me."

"Are you sure he isn't just eating some other time?" Hermione asked reasonably.

"I'm pretty sure. He looks like he's getting thinner."

"Have you tried asking him?"

"I just said that he wouldn't talk to Lee or me." Hermione looked up at Tenten from the book that was on her lap.

"I heard that………I just kind of assumed that you meant that he wouldn't reply."

"I wish. He won't even let us within reach." Tenten sat down, seeing no sign of Neji. Thunder leapt onto her lap.

"**Mama, you're sad. Don't be sad. It'll be okay, right?**" Tenten gave him a shaky smile.

"Of course it will be." She whispered. Thunder didn't protest when she lifted him to bury her face in his fur, simply to hide her rapidly forming tears from the others. Tenten was worried about Neji, she had seen him, and damn, he looked horrible. There were dark circles under his eyes, like he didn't sleep anymore. He had been growing thinner, from skipping every meal, but worst of all, his eyes were dull. There was none of the spark that was Hyuuga Neji. He was a shell, simply functioning to keep himself alive.

"_Why is he taking this so hard?_" Tenten asked Lee. "_He's normally over squabbles in about ten minutes._"

"_Neji has much to cope with. His ultimate advantage is almost useless here. He barely understands what is going on, and Neji has always understood almost everything immediately. He is in constant fights with the clients._"

"Enough, Lee. I get it." Tenten replied in English. "_The Byakugan barely works here……I forgot._"

"What were you two saying?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing." Tenten said. She nudged some eggs around her plate with her fork before finally giving up on eating anything and letting Thunder clean her plate.

"I still can't believe you let your cat eat off of your plate," Ron said, looking slightly green.

"Only once I'm done. Let's go. We're supposed to have Professor Lupin sometime today." The group stood and made their way out of the Great Hall, trying to avoid being crushed by the mass of students all heading to their classes at the same time.

The morning passed relatively slowly. Neji was in all of the classes, as he was supposed to be, but he made sure to sit as far as possible from both of his teammates and Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Okaasan was on his shoulder, as she usually was, although she occasionally glanced at the others. Her feathers were fluffed slightly, like she was annoyed. The annoyance seemed to be with Neji, considering every so often the falcon would bend down and tug slightly at his hair. The final class before lunch was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the Gryffindors cautiously entered the room, only to find a bunch of Slytherins waiting.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ron whined. "We've got this class with the Slytherins?!"

"Obviously," Hermione shot back. "Now just come and sit down." The goal was to sit down out of the Slytherin line of sight before they were spotted, but their rival house had found someone else to torment. Well, they thought that they were tormenting him.

Neji was at the center of the group, a scroll in front of him as he wrote. Tenten and Lee both thought he was starting his homework. That was Neji-like behavior. The Slytherins continued to taunt him, saying things that the Gryffindors couldn't really hear, although Lee managed to pick up the words 'blind' and 'girly'. Usually Neji would stab someone for that offense, but he just kept writing. Okaasan, however, had no inhibitions regarding harm to students, and no tolerance for people that tried to hurt Neji. The bird screeched at the offending students, but to no avail. They didn't leave. Malfoy was visible in the group from the Gryffindors' angle, blond hair like a beacon.

"Git." Ron growled, making an obscene gesture in Malfoy's general direction."

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "If a teacher sees you, you'll get in trouble! Stop it!" Harry leaned over to Tenten and Ron.

"Should we help him?" The pair exchanged looks.

"He wouldn't appreciate it," Tenten sighed.

"He has not attacked anyone yet," Lee pointed out.

"'Yet' being the keyword there," Tenten said. "We should leave him be until it looks like he actually needs our help." The five continued to watch the spectacle until Professor Lupin arrived in his shabby robes.

"Everyone, put your books away," He ordered, shooting glances at the Slytherins that had been bothering Neji, "and follow me. Today we will have a practical lesson. Bring your wands."

"A practical lesson?" Tenten asked Harry. "Is this normal?"

"We've only had one practical lesson before, last year. Our teacher set a bunch of Cornish Pixies loose in the classroom and ran for it. Hopefully, Lupin will have thought his out a bit more……"

"What are Cornish Pixies?" Lee asked curiously.

"Demon creatures from hell," Ron said shortly before Hermione could say anything.

"Ron, don't be foolish. They're little creatures about this tall," Hermione held her hands about six inches apart, "they're bright blue, and they like to play tricks on people. The classroom last year was chaos by the time they were done."

"Sounds bad," Tenten commented. She leaned over to whisper to Lee, "_Sounds like bunshined shrunken Naruto._" Her teammate snorted quietly. Tenten, despite what Lupin had said about only bringing their wands, had Thunder on her shoulder, just as she knew that Lee had Maito, and Okaasan was clearly visible with Neji.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

**(Neji's POV)**

Neji trailed obediently after Lupin, concealing himself behind an unfamiliar group of Gryffindors. Hopefully he'd be out of both the Slytherins' views and his teammates'. On his shoulder, Okaasan was raving furiously at him, as she had been almost nonstop since his argument with Tenten and Lee.

"**Chick, you're running yourself into the ground for no good reason! You've abandoned your nestmates, and the fledglings you swore to protect! All because your friend and the fledglings said and did something wrong?!**" Neji ignored her, as he had been since she began. There was nothing that Okaasan could tell him that he hadn't already told himself repeatedly and emphatically. Finally, Okaasan gave up with a final cuff of Neji's head and sat silently.

The Hyuuga barely noticed as Lupin paused to chase Peeves away from stuffing a broom closet keyhole full of gum. He simply paused because the group had paused, despite knowing that the herd mentality would get him ruthlessly killed if anyone actually attacked. He was just too drained to do anything else. Neji hadn't been eating, as that would mean entering the Great Hall at approximately the same time as his teammates, and that would lead to some sort of confrontation. He hadn't been sleeping, as he didn't feel safe enough in unknown territory without Tenten and Lee to watch his back. He was barely keeping up in classes, despite how it appeared that he knew everything as well as Hermione, which was a horrible feeling. The small ball of stress and worry that Neji had stuffed under his ribs was slowly growing, and Neji was starting to wonder if Hinata or Naruto or Lee had ever felt like this, given how low most of their grades had been at the academy. Of course, Hinata's written grades had been fine. It was her practical exercises that had teachers worried.

Neji's musings were abruptly halted when Professor Lupin led them into a room that appeared to be a staff room. Severus Snape was sitting at a table with a number of papers in front of him. He gave the Gryffindors and Lupin looks like they were rotting corpses that he had just found on his doorstep.

"Hello, Severus," Lupin said as cheerfully as could, given the look from his colleague, "I was just about to have my class in here, with Mr. Longbottom to assist me. Would you care to stay and watch?" Neville turned an odd shade of green upon hearing that he would be required to assist Professor Lupin, and Snape shot the unfortunate boy another look.

"No, I think I will be leaving. Be advised, Remus, that Neville Longbottom has the unfortunate ability of being able to make the foulest mess possible out of the simplest task." Neville looked as though he was on the verge of tears. His housemates each appeared to want to rip Snape to shreds, while the Slytherins could barely suppress their glee. Neji managed to dredge up some faint sympathy toward Neville and some enmity towards Snape for a few moments before apathy reclaimed him. He was just too _tired_ to care. Once Snape was out of the room, Lupin turned back to his class just as a large wardrobe started to shake.

"Nothing to worry about. That is a boggart. Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?" Hermione's hand shot into the hair. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"It's a shapeshifter. It takes the shape of whatever frightens you the most."

"Very good. Ten points to Gryffindor." Hermione beamed at this. "Now, does anyone know how to defeat a boggart? Yes, Miss Granger again."

"Laughter."

"Very good. Another ten points. Now, since laughter is the ultimate weapon against a boggart, and it must be genuine laughter, you must find a way to make a boggart look amusing. The catch is, obviously, that as you are doing this, the boggart is in the form of your worst nightmare. Now, let us practice the correct incantation. Repeat after me, without wands please. Riddkulus."

"Riddkulus," The class repeated obediently. Neji could hear Malfoy muttering in the back of the room.

"This class is ridiculous," He might have said something to the boy, but Lupin was gesturing Neville forward.

"Now, Neville, tell me what frightens you the most." Neville muttered something inaudibly. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Would you please repeat that?"

"P……Professor Snape, sir." Lupin looked slightly surprised, but recovered quickly.

"Neville, do correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you live with your grandmother."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, Neville, can you remember what she normally wears?"

"Well……she carries a red……handbag……and……"

"No need to tell us. As long as you can picture it clearly in your mind, we will see it. Now, when I open the door, I want you to—" Here, Lupin leaned down to whisper in Neville's ear quietly enough that Neji probably wouldn't have been able to make anything out if he had been inclined to eavesdrop. Neville nodded quickly, his eyes bright with what looked like excitement. "Ready, Neville? On the count of three, I'm going to open the door. One…Two…Three!" The professor gestured with his wand towards the wardrobe door and quickly stepped out of the way. The rest of the class clustered together behind Neville, leaving the boy on his own. Slowly, menacingly, the door swung open, and a creature that looked exactly like Professor Snape stepped out, striding toward Neville with the long, impatient stride that always made him look both angry and in a hurry.

"R……Riddkulus!" The false Snape stopped in his tracks, now wearing a huge hat with a stuffed vulture on top, a grandmotherly coat and skirt, and carrying a large red handbag. The class immediately burst into uproarious laughter, Lupin included. Neji snorted quietly, bringing one hand up to his mouth to hide the slight smirk that was forming. Across the room, he could see Lee and Tenten cracking up. Tenten had tears streaming down her face from the laughter. The kitten on her shoulder had almost fallen off from his mistress's sudden hunching over to hold her stomach.

"Alright, then! Who's next?" Lupin asked after he gained control of himself. The entire class began to clamor for their turn. "Form a line, let's go!" The students scrambled to obey, while Team Gai stayed slightly to the side of the line, Neji on one side and Lee and Tenten on the other. Eventually, when Harry was almost at the front of the line, Lupin made the smallest of gestures toward Tenten and Lee and then toward the boggart. The pair stepped forward, and Tenten fell behind her teammate out of habit. Normally, Lee would be kicking the crap out of an enemy while she turned them into a pincushion. Obviously, that wasn't the case here, but the familiarity was nice.

The boggart, which had been turned into a jack-in-the-box by the last student, seemed to stare down at Lee before transforming. Within seconds, Tsunade stood in front of the ninja. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was biting her lip. She wouldn't make eye contact with Lee.

"I'm sorry, Lee. I can't heal you. You're never going to be able to be a shinobi again." Lee stared blankly at the fake Tsunade for a few moments, until Maito nipped him on the hand.

"**Move!**" Lee struck his Nice Guy Pose.

"YOSH!! THE POWER OF YOUTH WILL CARRY ME THROUGH!" The entire class blinked in unison, staring at Lee and the boggart with 'What the hell?' faces. Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"Alright then. Miss Buki, go." Tenten stepped past Lee, Thunder cradled in her arms. The boggart stared at her in Tsunade's form for a few moments before changing. Tenten immediately screamed at the change in form. Gai lay dead on the ground, blood pooling under his body. His blank eyes stared up at her in death. Thunder leapt to his mistress's defense, all claws and fangs as he ran at the boggart. When Thunder hit the creature, it changed shape again. Now it was Lee. Tenten was shaking, staring at the body, not registering the real Lee's calls from behind her. The only thing she could register was her teammate lying dead on the floor with blood all around him. The worst thing was, such a thing was entire possible. Lee could die at any time on any mission, as could Gai-sensei. Suddenly, somebody moved in front of her. It took Tenten a moment, but she recognized the person as Neji. But……………Neji was angry at her, wasn't he? Thunder left off his attack on the boggart to run back to Tenten, mewing and pawing at her leg.

"**Mama? Mama, are you okay?**" Tenten scooped the kitten up, ignoring his frantic questioning as she stared at Neji and the boggart. Just as it had for Lee and herself, the creature swiftly changed shape. Tenten gasped quietly when she saw the shape it had taken. Hinata. Why would Neji ever be frightened of Hinata? Her train of thought was abruptly cut off when someone pulled her into a strong hug. She recognized the arms as Lee's, and immediately hugged him back. The shock was setting in, and Tenten knew that if she let go of Lee, she would collapse. Despite this, Tenten twisted herself slightly to watch Neji and the fake Hinata. What was going to happen?

The fake Hinata slowly stepped toward Neji, her usually gentle eyes hard and cold. Her stance was confident, and when she began to speak, there was no stutter.

"You worthless Branch House dog. You have never respected the Main House. I will take upon myself to punish you." She raised one hand and formed a single seal. Before Neji could react, agony exploded in his forehead, coursing down through his eyes. He heard screaming and realized that it was his own. Hinata stood over him, grinning viciously, and made another sign. The pain increased exponentially, as did the volume of Neji's screams. He was on the verge of passing out when Lupin threw himself in front of Neji, wand drawn. The boggart immediately formed itself into some shape that Neji's blurring vision couldn't make out. He heard the teacher shout the repelling charm, and he could hear Okaasan screeching desperately into his ear, but before Neji could try and say anything to reassure her, the blackness took over.

ENDENDENDENDENDEND

A/N: So……….What do you think?


	8. Recovery

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I had it all typed up...but it all somehow got deleted...THE HORROR! Anyway, Happy Easter to all, or at least a Happy Spring!

STARTSTORYSTARTSTORYSTARTSTORY

The class stood in shocked silence for a few moments before Lee and Tenten raced to their fallen teammate's side. Their movement seemed to break a trance, as the whole class quickly clustered around the three. Okaasan was flying in tight circles about five feet above the floor, divebombing students that got too close to her chick. Lupin seemed to shake himself out of the shock right at that moment and forced his way through the crowd.

"Class dismissed, class dismissed! Go on, now!" When the class didn't move, Lupin began to gently push the students in the direction of the door. The rest of them still gave no signs of wanting to move, so Okaasan, Thunder, and Maito took responsibility into their own talons, paws, and shells. The falcon flew around Team Gai and Lupin, her sharp talons close enough to students' faces to make them nervous. Meanwhile, Thunder dashed from student to student, either clawing or nipping them. Maito was slower than Thunder, but he did about the same thing. He would stealthily crawl onto an unsuspecting kid's shoe, and then bite down hard on their leg. The reflexive kicks that followed didn't affect him at all, as he simply pulled into his shell, landed, and began the whole process again. Eventually, with the persuasive powers of a teacher threatening detention and three animals basically attempting to maul them, the class left. Tenten, Lee, and Lupin were left with the unconscious Neji.

Tenten lifted Neji's head onto her lap, and Lee removed his headband. The normally dull curse mark was still glowing faintly green from activation. Tenten swallowed a sudden surge of nausea at the sight as Lupin stepped around them for a better view. He crouched down beside the ninja, wand drawn.

"What should I do?" He asked. Tenten whimpered quietly.

"I don't know. I've...we've...this has never happened to Neji before," Lee nodded in agreement, two fingers on Neji's throat to check his pulse. "Neji is probably the only one here that actually knows how to treat this right now." 

"Let me try something," Lupin said. He waved his wand over Neji. "Ennerverate." There was a gentle green glow, and Neji stirred slightly.

"Neji, are you alright?" Lee asked. The Hyuuga struggled to open his eyes, and immediately clamped them closed again.

"Neji, you have to tell us what to do. We haven't seen this before," Tenten told him quietly.

"L...lights. D...dim t...them." Tenten turned to Lupin, who waved his wand. All the shutters in the room shut, allowing only minimal light in.

"Now what?" Tenten asked desperately.

"N...nothing to d...do. I n...need r...rest."

"Should we take him to the Hospital Wing?" Lupin asked.

"He'd kill us once he recovered. The dormitory should be fine. Lee?" Tenten turned to her solemn-looking teammate. Lee carefully lifted Neji, being especially cautious not to jolt his head. He actually had seen someone recovering from the curse seal before when he had been sent to pick Neji up for training once. It had been horrible to watch, and Lee had hovered around the house while Neji had treated him until his teammate was ready to go. Neji had been tight-lipped, and Lee had seen bloody crescents on his palms where Neji had dug his nails in from rage. Neji had managed to grind out later that the man was a cousin. Lee had managed to pick up the undertone that Neji was concerned, and that he was probably closer to that man than most of his family. A few days later, Neji had showed up at training watery-eyed and tense. He was particularly brutal to Lee that day during their sparring, and later, when Lee had slammed him up against a tree because he was so much physically stronger than Neji, Neji had let his head fall against Lee's shoulder. Lee had found out that the man had died from the curse seal. The main family member had made the power too high and held it for too long. Neji had been completely silent for days, not responding to anything that any of his teammates or teacher said. After that, he had simply responded to what was said in the bluntest, shortest manner possible. He had remained like that until Naruto had kicked the crap out of him during the chunnin exams. Naruto, Tenten, and himself had fought too long and hard to keep Neji human. He wasn't going to let some warped wizard creature be the reason that they failed.

"I have him. We should go before classes change and hallways get crowded." Lee didn't flinch when Okaasan, devoid of a place to perch, landed on his shoulder and dropped Maito onto his head.

"I'll escort you to keep anyone from questioning what you're doing, particularly Severus, should he find you." 

"Thank you." Tenten murmured. She lifted all of her team's bookbags and easily slung them over one shoulder. Thunder, in a futile attempt to balance out the weight of the bags, perched on his mistress's other shoulder. He dug his claws in, pressing his cold nose into Tenten's ear until she yelped. When the small group opened the door, they found Harry, Ron, and Hermione outside, all looking extremely guilty.

"Um...sorry." Harry said sheepishly.

"When will you three learn?" Tenten asked tiredly. "Stop eavesdropping."

"But what's wrong with Neji?" Hermione asked.

"...That is Neji's business," Lee said. "Will you please move out of the way? We are trying to take him back to the dormitory." 

"Get to class, you three." Lupin said firmly. "Neji will be taken care of." When none of the Gryffindors moved, Lupin jerked his head down the hall. "Go on, now."

"We...um...we'll check in later," Hermione said. She grabbed Harry and Ron and tugged them down the hall in the direction of their next class. Lee carried Neji down the hall, pausing occasionally to allow Lupin to shoo some curious students who didn't have classes away. The Gryffindor common room was completely empty, so they were free to move without interuptions. Lupin paused for a moment to look around with a wistful look on his face.

"This place looks exactly the same as it did when I was a student here." Tenten paused next to Lupin to look up at him.

"You miss being a student?"

"A little. Things were simpler then."

"Don't worry. It'll get simpler again when you're an old geezer who can't remember a thing." Lupin looked down at the girl, who was giving him a weak grin.

"Neji'll be fine. Go on up with Lee. He probably needs the help." Lupin gestured toward the dormitories, and Tenten nodded.

"We'll tell you when things change. Thanks." She started to head up the stairs, but paused. "Hey, would you mind telling Dumbledore-sama? We...well, you know."

"It's fine. I don't have a class this next period. Go help Neji," Tenten smiled at him and turned to sprint up the stairs.

Lee had already settled Neji onto his own bed and was easing off his shoes and headband. Okaasan was tugging on the knot that fastened his tie. Tenten took over. The frustrated bird was likely to rip it.

"Get the drapes, Lee. It's too bright in here," Tenten carefully pulled Neji's outer robe off so he was just in his shirt and pants. Lee obeyed before leaving the room to dampen a cloth to cover Neji's eyes. He remembered seeing it when he had seen Neji's cousin. Maito sat perched on his head, quietly murmuring reassurances to the young shinobi. He could feel the stress and worry from Lee, and the overwhelming emotions were making him feel physically nauseated.

"**He's going to be fine, Lee.**" 

"I know," Lee responded as he wet the cloth. Maito playfully nipped at the finger that rose to rub at his small shell.

"**Really, Lee. He'll be fine. This is Neji we're talking about, and from what you've told me...he'll be fine.**" 

"You have been saying that for the past half an hour. I know."

"**...Are you sure?**"

"Maito, enough." Lee said firmly. His voice wasn't harsh, but it was final. The topic was closed. Maito obediently went quiet, rubbing his head against Lee's ear.

Lee returned to the dormitory, finding Tenten curled in a chair beside Neji's bed. A purring Thunder was asleep in her lap.

"What if we can't make him better, Lee?" She asked fearfully.

"We will. He will be fine," He draped the cloth over Neji's eyes and sat down in the chair that Tenten had pulled up next to her own. Okaasan was perched beside Neji's head, chirping like a lost fledgling. Every so often she ducked her head to nudge at Neji's cheek, looking more and more depressed when he didn't respond. Tenten took pity on her and placed the bird on her shoulder. The pain of having talons dug into her made the girl yelp and wake up Thunder. The kitten yowled in protest and dug his claws into his mistress's leg. Lee leaned over and offered his bandaged arm to the bird, who stepped on after giving him a scrutinizing look. Tenten rubbed the sore spot on her shoulder and offered Thunder an apologetic scratch behind the ears. The kitten purred contentedly, and all was forgiven.

"...How did you know what to do?" Tenten asked suddenly. Now that she was no longer being mauled by her kitten, her mind could focus properly.

"I...um...I've seen it before..." Lee admitted. He was forced to dodge the kunai that came flying his way. "Not on Neji! On his cousin!" Another kunai. "Not Hinata either! Another one!" Another kunai. "Tenten!" 

"And why, exactly, didn't you tell me?!" Another kunai. 

"Neji told me not to!" The kunai stopped coming. 

"Tell me what happened. Now," Tenten added when Lee hesitated. 

"It was a long time ago..."

"Lee," Tenten started. Lee quickly began explaining at the hint of annoyance in Tenten's voice. It was never, under any circumstances, a good idea to annoy Tenten. She didn't have Neji's self-restraint, and she always had many kunai and other pointy objects.

"Remember back a few years ago, when Neji became...angrier?"

"When he pounded both of us into the dust like academy students? Yeah."

"That was when it happened...his cousin died from overuse of the curse seal. I was sent to get him for training and I saw...it was horrible, Tenten."

"That...that was the day you were both three hours late. Gai-sensei freaked. I tried to kill you both because we all had to run an extra five hundred laps." 

"Yes, you did."

"We set a village record that day."

"Yes, we did."

"First team of genin to run a thousand laps in under six hours."

"Yes."

"Because I was trying to kill you and Neji and you two were trying to get away."

"Yes."

"...That day sucked more than I thought it did then."

"It most likely did." Lee agreed. Tenten scowled at him and settled back into her chair. 

"...You're off the hook this time, but you'd better not keep any other secrets from me. Got it?" Lee nodded. "Good. Now get the kunai before some nosy student comes in." Lee obeyed, scooping up all of Tenten's kunai and tossing them back to her. She easily caught them. "Did I rip anything that needs to be repaired?" 

"I do not think so." 

"Good. I can't sew. So now we'll wait for Neji to wake up, right?"

"Yes."

"We should probably do some of our homework, shouldn't we?"

"We should."

"We're not going to, are we?" 

"Most likely not."

"As long as we agree, then." Tenten kicked the pile of textboks over and scratched Thunder behind the ears. His purring was reminiscent of a small motorboat, and it only increased as Tenten tucked him under her chin. Lee watched as Tenten twisted herself to lie sideways in the chair and rest her head on the arm. "You'll wake me up, right?"

"If anything happens? Of course." Lee nodded. Tenten reached over and clenched her fingers into the soft material of Neji's shirt before falling into a light doze. Lee returned his attention to Neji. "Neji...why would you so fear your own cousin?" There was no response, not that he had expected one, and Lee curled up in his chair, stroking Maito's shell and Okaasan's head. The turtle and falcon looked up at him, and then at each other before cuddling into a warm ball in his lap. Lee drew a kunai and subtly positioned it in his lap. If Neji and Tenten were not functioning, he was on guard. Team Gai had always been run like that, and Team Gai would always be run like that, and hell to anyone who said otherwise.

A few hours later, while Tenten was awake and Lee was dozing, Neji stirred. When his eyes opened, Okaasan immediately squirmed free of Lee's hands and launched herself at her boy's face, nuzzling and cooing quietly. He pushed her away, adding a gentle stroke on her wings so it didn't seem like a rebuff. Tenten chucked a textbook at Lee and stood to lean over Neji.

"Neji, are you okay?!" He groaned and turned onto his side, facing away from her.

"Quiet...headache..." 

"My Most Youthful Rival, is there anything that I could do for you?!"

"Silence!" He growled. "Just be quiet! I will do anything if you will just be quiet!" Lee and Tenten exchanged looks and sat down on either side of their friend and each rested a hand on his side. His eyes were tightly clenched shut as he fought back waves of nausea. 

"Neji, do you want to go to the Hospital Wing?" Tenten asked softly. Neji shook his head.

"I'll be fine," He hissed. Lee brushed Neji's long hair out of his face.

"Your seal looks painful," He commented. Tenten leaned over to look. The seal was inflamed, the skin surrounding it and Neji's eyes a bright and painful-looking shade of red. If she so chose, Tenten could trace the veins where the chakra for Neji's Byakugan would flow. They were almost as swollen as they would be with his bloodline activated.

"Alright, what do we do?" Tenten asked. Neji squinted up at her, and then tilted his head away.

"Make it dimmer...my head..." He raised one arm to cover his eyes.

"Lee, can you...?"

"Of course," Lee slipped off of the bed and easily padded around the room, pulling the curtains over the windows. Neji's half-closed eyes followed his teammate until Lee returned to perch on his bed again. Tenten had rearranged herself so that she could lean over Neji more easily, and was stroking his long hair. "Try to open your eyes now," Neji's eyes opened slowly, and he looked tiredly up at his worried teammates.

"I'm fine," Neji murmured, "really." He brushed his knuckles across Okaasan's chest feathers and settled back down into the covers.

"Get some more sleep, Neji," Tenten said, "We're going to need you to do our homework later." She received a pillow in the face for her trouble, and then Lee received one as well before he could say anything. Neji pulled the blankets closer around himself and closed his eyes. Tenten hesitated, and then curled against Neji's back, Thunder cuddled against her throat. Lee looked down at his teammates, and then around the room. He didn't think there would be any true threats...it didn't look like there'd be any threats...

"**I'll wake you up if anything happens,**" Maito said, correctly interpreting his boy's hesitation. At that, Lee promptly flopped down beside his team and closed his eyes. Within moments, all three of them were curled up on Neji's bed, fast asleep. Thunder remained curled against Tenten's throat, purring loudly enough to wake the dead. Okaasan was perched on the headboard of the bed, constantly watching for any possible threat. Maito sat himself on Lee's head, on the lookout as he had promised Lee. He looked up at the imposing bird.

"**Lee is taking this badly. How's Neji doing?**" He asked. Okaasan cocked her head to the side to regard both Neji and Lee before responding.

"**He's understandably upset and hurt. He is grateful for his flockmates' care, whatever he says otherwise.**" 

"**I thought as much.**" Maito stretched his neck as much as he could in an attempt to look over the boys' bodies. "**How is the little one?**"

"**The kitten? Thunder? He's too young to understand what's going on. He's asleep.**" The bird smiled as much a bird could. "**He's sweet.**"

"**You think Tenten would take a bad-tempered creature? She's a good judge of character.**"

"**As much as one can be when one's form of entertainment is throwing ridiculously pointed objects at one's flockmates.**" Okaasan snorted. "**I like her though. She's spirited.**" 

"**And Neji likes her?**" Maito asked slyly.

"**...My chick's opinion does not influence my own.**" Okaasan said, fluttering her wings. Maito snorted as much as a turtle could.

"**Of course not. Just like what Lee thinks has no influence over me. I'm not stupid, bird.**" 

"**I never said you were!**" The bird fluttered her wings again. "**I-**" They were interupted by a small mew.

"**Wha's goin' on?**" Thunder raised his head slightly, looking from Okaasan to Maito and back.

"**Go back to sleep, little one,**" Maito sighed.

"**But I'm awake now, and I don't wanna,**"

"**Then go play with that fluffy orange creature that the other girl calls a cat,**" Okaasan suggested. Thunder opened his mouth to protest, but seemed to think better of it and carefully climbed over his mistress's body.

"**Bye bye!**" He hopped off of the bed and dashed across the room, squeezing though the crack between the door and wall. 

"**...Was that a bad idea?**" Maito asked cautiously.

"**...Probably. Want to go after him?**"

"**No.**" 

"**I don't either. He'll be fine, right?"**

"...**Tenten's going to make you into fletching for arrows and use my shell as a grenade.**"

"**...Lee and my chick will protect us, won't they?**"

"**They don't exactly stand up to Tenten very often, do they?**"

"**No. We are screwed.**" Maito snapped his jaws impatiently.

"**Ya think so, bird?**" 

Despite Okaasan's grim prediction, the bird didn't move from her perch. Maito watched her from his spot on Lee's head. He had found that sitting on his boy's head was the most comfortable if Lee was standing still. If Lee was moving, it was best to relocate to one of his pockets and hope that Tenten didn't tackle him. Okaasan gave a content chirp as she watched the turtle settle himself into his boy's hair. She thought she could probably stand to stay here with her chick for another few hours. Nothing wrong with that. The falcon shifted slightly and hopped off of the headboard to make a small nest out of the blankets by Neji's head.

Maito and Okaasan sat with their humans for hours, trading off watches as one or the other got bored or tired. They were only woken when the Gryffindor students all returned to the tower to get ready for dinner. The noise of chattering children filled the tower. Lee was the first to wake. He took a few moments to orient himself, and then leaned over Neji to shake Tenten. The girl was awake in an instant.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"The students are back. Do we wake Neji?"

"'M already awake," Neji mumbled. He pushed himself from his stomach and onto his arms, shaking slightly. Tenten rested a hand between his shoulder blades, rubbing small circles. Okaasan chirped quietly and pressed her beak into the join between between Neji's neck and shoulder.

"Neji, how do you feel?" Lee asked. Neji shook his head and groaned.

"I guess that's a 'bad'. All the kids are coming up, so get ready for an interrogation." Neji groaned again, letting his head fall forward onto the pillow. 

"I. Hate. This. School." 

"We know," Lee said, affectionately patting his shoulder. Tenten and Lee looked up at the door as the Gryffindor boys cautiously opened it, wondering if it was safe to come in.

"You can come in," Tenten called. Neji gritted his teeth loudly as Tenten's voice penetrated straight to the very center of his pulsing headache. "Sorry, Neji."

"Can't help it," He replied as the boys walked in. Tenten scruffled his hair teasingly and received a pillow to the face. The Gryffindors crept into the room, trying to be silent.

"You are allowed to breathe," Lee told Ron, who was turning purple as he tried to keep silent by holding his breath. Tenten and Neji snorted.

"I'm not about to drop dead, either, so stop looking at me like that," Neji told the boys, who tried to pretend they hadn't been staring. The three boys that Team Gai didn't know well (A/N: Seamus, Dean, and Neville, for anyone who cares) finished dumping their books and fled the room. Harry and Ron stayed.

"So, what happened earlier?" Harry asked. There was a loud knock on the door and then Hermione burst into the room.

"Neji! You're-mmph!" Tenten had moved faster than any of the students could see and had clamped her hand over Hermione's mouth as Neji pulled the pillow over his head.

"Be quiet!" Tenten hissed to Hermione. "His head's already throbbing, and shouting makes it worse!" Hermione nodded, and Tenten released her. She offered Neji an apologetic smile, which he didn't see because of the fact that his head was still under the pillow. Lee reached over and pulled the pillow off of Neji's head, ignoring the glare he recieved. The Hyuuga slowly sat up, barely even blinking as Tenten started toward him with a long of stream of advice that would all boil down to 'LIE DOWN YOU IDIOT BEFORE YOU HURT YOURSELF MORE!'. 

"Tenten, don't even start," He warned her. She wrinkled her nose at him, but stayed blessedly silent. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down on Harry's bed, which was directly opposite Neji's. The two groups stared at each other silently, in the same position as each other. On one side, Neji was in the middle, with Tenten on his left and Lee on his right. On the other, Harry was in the middle with Hermione on his left and Ron on his right.

"BLOODY HELL!" Ron exclaimed. "Your eyes!" Neji flinched visibly at the loud noise. "Sorry!" Hermione leaned around Harry to put her hand over Ron's mouth in a move that looked eerily similar to Tenten's. She had learned it from the kunoichi. 

"So...what happened earlier?" Harry asked.

"Long story," Neji said flatly.

"Who did the boggart take the form of?" Hermione asked.

"My cousin, Hinata. One year younger than I am." 

"Why her form?" 

"Long story,"

"What was that whole thing about the main house or whatever?" Ron interjected.

"Long story," 

"You're not going to tell us, are you?" Harry asked.

"No. I'm not." Neji said bluntly.

"Are you coming down to dinner then?" Hermione changed the subject before Ron or Harry got too curious. Neji shook his head.

"Too noisy, too bright, not hungry." 

"We're not leaving Neji," Tenten said. Okaasan added an affirmative chirp while Maito snapped his jaws in agreement.

"We'll be back after dinner," Hermione said, standing and pulling Harry and Ron up with her, "and we'll bring you something up." 

"We would be most grateful," Lee said cheerfully. The students grinned at Team Gai as they left. Neji scowled tiredly.

"Ugh."

"We know, we know. Hey...does this mean we're not fighting anymore?" Tenten asked suddenly. Neji and Lee stared blankly at her for a moment.

"...I guess not," Neji said. Tenten's face lit up like a sparkler. She immediately leapt at Neji, tackling him in a tight hug. Neji was knocked backwards into Lee, who caught them. All three fell off the bed, landing with a loud 'thud'. Tenten released her teammate and stood, but her grin was almost bright enough to rival Lee's. Neji was getting nervous as his headache got worse and worse from the glow.

"Neji, you are not moving," Lee commented. Neji dropped his head to hide his face in Lee's shoulder.

"The light burns." Lee and Tenten exchanged looks before falling into quietly helpless laughter. Neji growled. "I hate you all." 

"Aww...we love you too, Neji." Tenten pulled him off of Lee and back onto the bed, "Hey...has anyone seen Thunder?" Okaasan and Maito glanced at each other before looking away, and giving their masters the most innocent looks that they could muster up.

"I have not seen Thunder since we woke up," Lee said.

"Haven't seen him since...class," 

"Where is he?!" Tenten asked, almost panicking, "He could be hurt, or lost, or...or..."

"Tenten, you'd know if he was hurt or dead. Calm down," Neji said. The girl was ignoring him in favor of essentially ripping the room apart in search of her kitten. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Professor McGonagall walked in, holding Thunder by the scruff of his neck.

"Thunder! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Tenten launched herself at the teacher, taking Thunder and proceeding to squeeze him until he squeaked. The poor kitten mewled pitifully, squirming free of Tenten's crushing grip and hopping onto her head.

"The little miscreant showed up during my afternoon class and then refused to leave. My students, at least, found it quite amusing."

"He...oh...sorry," Tenten offered sheepishly, "he probably just got bored because all of us were sleeping. I'll...um...Thunder, apologize!" The kitten mewed contritely, turning his large eyes on McGonagall with an innocence that would have put a baby Hinata to shame.

"Oh, fine. Miss Buki, keep your cat under control and from running amok throughout the school. I can only imagine what Severus would have done if he had appeared in his class," 

"Oh, he wouldn't have gone there," Tenten said cheerfully, "he doesn't like him." the professor sighed.

"Of course not," she turned to Neji, "I heard about what happened with the boggart during your class," 

"I assume most of the school has by now," Neji said flatly. 

"Will you be fit to return to guarding Mr. Potter by tomorrow?"

"Yes. If I am not, Lee and Tenten will return to guarding him, whether they wish to or not," He ignored the protests from his teammates, shooting them both glares that were made all the more frightening by the inhumane appearance that the swollen redness of his chakra pathways gave him.

"I expect your homework to be done by tomorrow. All of your homework," She added, glancing over at Tenten, who was pouting. Thunder was perched on her head, purring loudly.

"It will be. Would mind informing Dumbledore-sama as well?"

"I'll tell him. I would also advise you to, if your eyes do not look better tomorrow, try and cover the red areas up. It will certainly keep you from getting quite as much attention. Miss Buki, keep your cat under control. Good evening," She nodded to the teens and left the room. Tenten waited until she couldn't hear the woman's footsteps before rounding on her kitten.

"Thunder, why did you leave?! You scared me!"

"**Okaasan and Maito told me to go away.**" Okaasan and Maito heard him.

"**We told him to go play with the other girl's cat!**" Okaasan protested. Neji translated for Tenten's benefit. 

"**He wouldn't be quiet!**" Maito added. Lee told Tenten. The girl nearly saw red right then. Okaasan took off from Neji's shoulder, snatched Maito from Lee's hands, and was out the door before Tenten could blink. Of course, that didn't stop her from taking pursuit. Thunder mewed his glee as Tenten ran, enjoying the feeling of the wind whistling through his fur. Neji and Lee hopped off of the bed and followed them down to the common room. The few Gryffindor students that had already come back from dinner stared shamelessly at Tenten, who was running in circles after the bird and turtle, and at Neji, whose eyes still were red and inflamed and had the curse mark openly displayed for the moment.

Lee handed Neji his headband back so the Hyuuga could hide the seal again, and then the two settled comfortably on their usual couch. About half an hour later, a disgruntled Tenten plopped down beside Neji, sulking. She hadn't been able to catch Okaasan or Maito. The animals perched on the mantle over the fireplace, watching Tenten warily.

"So, Neji, do you feel better?" Tenten asked, "Now that I've made a fool of myself in front of a bunch of people?"

"Yes. Yes I do," Neji smirked at her, but made sure to keep himself from looking directly at the fire. His eyes were still sensitive, and his head still hurt, but having Tenten making a fool out of herself always made him feel infinitely better. She did it so rarely that every incident was always worth watching.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the common room after dinner, they found Team Gai curled in a comfortable heap on the couch, each half-asleep and all perfectly content.

ENDSTORYENDSTORYENDSTORYENDSTORY

A/N:...I don't think this is one of my better chapters...but I need reviews anyway!


	9. Agreement

A/N: I know it's been like a month and a half since I updated…but…ya know, life interfered and all that. And apparently I have Depression. Huh. Well, that's new. Anyway…on we go.

Disclaimer: Je n'ai pas Naruto ou Harry Potter. (I'm taking French. Don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.)

By the time Neji and his team had the presence of mind to realize that they were supposed to have done their homework, it was three in the morning. Lee ran to fetch their textbooks, returning a few minutes later with Hermione.

"Hey. Want me to help you guys finish that so you can go back to bed?"

"We can do it ourselves," Neji said firmly. Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"You still like you're about to drop dead, and these two look like they'll join you soon. Let me help you just this once. I won't make a habit of it, if that'll make you feel any better." Neji met Hermione's steady gaze, and, for once, it was him who backed down first. Hermione was right; his head was pounding.

"…Tonight, and tonight only," Neji said. Tenten and Lee nodded. Hermione beamed at Neji, pulling an armchair over to sit next to them.

"Okay, so let's start with Transfiguration. The essay really isn't that hard to write once you recognize how this process works," Hermione rattled on and on, and Team Gai took this as their cue to write and began scribbling down ideas as fast as Hermione spouted them. The girl didn't even seem to realize when they were done with the essays until Tenten interrupted her with a potions book tossed into Hermione's lap.

"Oh. Sorry. Moving on now?" Hermione said sheepishly. She glanced up at the clock on the mantle. Three-thirty. Ouch. So much for sleep. Neji glared at her. "Guess so." Hermione stayed up with them until five-thirty to help them finish the rest of their homework. Thankfully, Team Gai were fast learners.

"Thanks, Hermione," Tenten said gratefully.

"We Youthfully thank you from the very bottom of our hearts," Lee began. Neji slammed a pillow into his face to stop the monologue. He gave Hermione a tired look, which, the girl supposed, was the closest thing she could expect to a thank you.

"I'm heading up to bed. You guys should get some sleep too," She offered them a shaky smile and headed upstairs to her nice, soft bed. Tenten shoved all of the school supplies off of the couch and burrowed down against the arm, pulling Neji and Lee closer.

"Sleep good. We're sleeping now," Tenten said bossily. Neji rolled his eyes, resting his head on Tenten's side, like always. She stroked his hair quietly. Lee joined them, head on Neji's side and hand laced with Tenten's. Neji made a soft sound of contentment at his teammates' affections. Lee and Tenten exchanged glances over Neji's half-asleep form. Neji almost never gave an indication that he liked being so close to his teammates, but he was beyond the point of exhaustion, and his head was still throbbing.

"Good night," Lee said. Tenten made an incoherent sound of agreement. Neji didn't say anything, choosing to close his eyes and fall asleep almost instantly. Lee burrowed closer to his friends before falling asleep himself. Tenten looked over her male teammates, stroking Thunder. They were both idiots in their own ways, but they were her idiots, so that made it all okay. On Neji's shoulder, Okaasan chirped drowsily, as if agreeing with Tenten's unspoken sentiments.

"G'night," Tenten told the animals. Seconds later, she was draped over the arm of the sofa, fast asleep.

A few hours later, Team Gai was woken by their pets. It was about two hours later than they usually woke up, being that they had fallen asleep when they would normally get up.

"**Chick, wake up. If you don't get up soon, you won't be able to eat before class.**" Okaasan nudged at Neji's head, chirping quietly in his ear.

"Go 'way," Neji mumbled. Thunder pawed at Tenten's hand with a pitiful mew meant to tug at his mistress's heartstrings. It was less than effective. Tenten didn't even stir. It was Maito who had the bright idea of leaning close to Lee's ear and whispering.

"**Lee, if you don't wake up right now, you're going to be Unyouthfully late,**" Maito immediately scrambled back. He wasn't quick enough to avoid being accidentally flung across the room as Lee sat bolt upright, eyes wide open.

"TENTEN, NEJI, AWAKE! WE MUST REGAIN OUR LOST TIME WITH OUR YOUTHFUL SPIRITS!" Lee exclaimed. He ignored the weird looks he was getting from the other Gryffindors in the common room. Neji, whose headache hadn't abated much from the day before, winced.

"Lee, shut up," Tenten moaned. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. Neji remained pressed against her side, eyes screwed shut against the early morning sun. "Neji, you okay?"

"Headache," He said, forcing himself to open his eyes and look at his teammates. From Tenten and Lee's grave looks, he obviously didn't look much better than he had last night either.

"Can you go to classes, Neji?" Lee asked. Neji nodded.

"I'm fine. We should get ready," Tenten gently tipped Neji's face toward her, looking at the still-swollen chakra pathways around his eyes.

"These still look pretty bad, Neji. Want me to put some cover-up on them or something?"

"They're too sore. I'll just take the looks," Neji slowly stood and stretched, ignoring the looks he was already getting at the sight of the swelling and redness around his eyes. "Let's go before we're late," He held out an arm for Okaasan to land on, which she took. Tenten and Lee quickly followed their teammate up to the dormitories, one worried about being late, and the other just wondering if they had time to hop in the shower first.

Navigating through the Great Hall was horrible for Neji. First of all, everyone in the school had heard about what had happened the day before, and secondly, there were so many windows that the light practically blinded him. Okaasan, who was perched on his shoulder, quietly chirped directions into his ear. Tenten and Lee made sure to take up positions on either side of Neji in a manner that was clearly both protective and possessive. This was their Neji, and anyone who wanted to talk to their Neji had to go through them.

"Here," Someone placed a vial in front of Neji. "This should help with your headache," The boy looked up from where he had been resting his forehead on the table. It was Professor Lupin. Neji picked the vial up, examined it as best he could without his Byakugan, and then drained it. The throbbing in his temples eased somewhat.

"Thank you," He mumbled.

"No problem. Are you alright?" The man asked, ignoring the curious students.

"I've been better," Neji said bluntly. He accepted the plate of eggs that Lee shoved his way. "Not your fault." He added before Lupin could say anything. He passed the eggs to Harry, who was sitting across from him.

"I'll see you in class later, then," Lupin said, reaching over to pat Neji on the shoulder before heading up to the staff table. Neji muttered something incoherent before resting his face on his arms again.

"Are you okay, Neji?" Harry asked. Neji muttered something again. Tenten rolled her eyes and rapped on the back of Neji's head with her knuckles.

"Up and at 'em, Neji. Here," She pushed a cup of orange juice into his hand. "You could use the sweet," Neji came back to himself enough to sit up and drain the glass before glaring at the rest of the gaping students

"Neji, eat," Lee shoved a plate of bacon toward his teammate. Occasionally, Neji needed someone to take care of him, and when Neji needed to be taken care of, he really needed to be taken care of. Tenten looked up at the still staring students.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Tenten snapped. Thunder hissed loudly and fluffed himself up to three times his normal size. Most students looked away, with only the boldest daring to ignore Tenten's ferocious glare. Malfoy, of course, was one of them. He smirked at them from his place across the room.

"So, are you actually okay?" Ron asked hesitantly. "'Cause yesterday was pretty bad…"

"I'm fine," Neji grumbled. He held a piece of chewy bacon up for Okaasan to eat. Tenten snorted.

"You're about as fine as this place is normal. Now eat the stupid bacon," She shoved the plate under his nose, giggling involuntarily about how quickly Neji jumped at the sudden movements.

"I hate you all," Neji muttered, but he did eat the piece of toast that Tenten shoved into his face after the plate of bacon.

"Are you sure you're-" Hermione started, but Neji interrupted.

"Yes, I'm fine. Tenten, stop that," He reached up and pulled Tenten's hand away from his hair. She had been absently running her fingers through it.

"Aww…but Neji…"

"No." He shot her an exasperated glare.

"So…um…when's the redness around your eyes going to go away?" Harry asked. Neji scowled, but Harry got the impression that the annoyance wasn't at him.

"I don't know. Probably a couple of days," He absently traced one of the swollen chakra veins near his right eye. "We have class soon," He stood, ignoring the sudden staring from the rest of the school again. He left the Great Hall. Tenten and Lee exchanged looks before simultaneously rising and following Neji after a quick goodbye to Harry and co. They found Neji outside, tucked in the darkest corner of the entrance hall that he could find.

"What is wrong?" Lee asked.

"It's too bright and noisy in there," Neji winced faintly. "It makes my headache worse,"

"Lucky for you, then, we have Potions first. Doesn't that just make your day so much better?" Neji glared at Tenten.

"Shut up. You're not helping,"

"But it's dark and creepy and almost silent down there, and the total opposite of the Great Hall," Tenten said cheerfully.

"…You're as bad as Lee," Neji grumbled, glaring at both of his teammates. Tenten and Lee exchanged looks and beamed at him.

"But Neji, how could you ever live without our Youthfulness?" Lee asked teasingly.

"Quite easily." He let his head rest against the wall behind him. He sat up again when Okaasan tugged on his sleeve.

"**Class, chick. You have to go,**" Neji sighed.

"Alright, alright." Tenten and Lee each grabbed one of Neji's arms and pulled him to his feet, not releasing Neji until they were sure he had his balance. "Time for Potions," A simultaneous sigh from Lee and Tenten.

"**I hate that teacher of yours,**" Maito grumbled. "**He uses turtle parts in his potions,**"

"I know," Lee said, rubbing his shell. "I will not let him use you in a potion,"

"**You'd better not.**" Maito's tone showed annoyance, but he rubbed his head against Lee's thumb all the same.

"**NNNNOOO! Mama, not the snake man! He's going to eat me!**" Thunder clung to Tenten with the claws on all four paws, mewing to break her heart.

"He's not going to eat you, now shush."

"**Yes he will!**" Thunder whined.

"Don't be silly. If he even thought about it I'd turn him into a pincushion," Tenten sniffed imperiously. Thunder seemed to consider this.

"**M'kay. Can I get down?**" Tenten obediently put Thunder down to walk beside her. It took him a little bit to get a steady walking rhythm going with his disproportionately large kitten paws, but he managed. It was helped by the fact that Tenten had a loose thread trailing from her robe, and he attempted to pounce on it as they moved.

Team Gai reached the Potions classroom before any of the other students and claimed desks in the back, giving them a good view of everything and everyone in the room, particularly who came in or out the door. Snape was already at his desk, going over some papers. Probably the homework that Team Gai had turned in two days before. He paused to look up at Neji.

"I heard about what happened yesterday."

"Who hasn't heard about what happened yesterday?" Neji replied, setting up his cauldron and getting his books out. Tenten and Lee gave Snape suspicious glares. He brushed Okaasan off of his shoulder, making her perch on the stand that was holding his cauldron up. "Why are you mentioning it?"

"Curiosity," Snape said, returning to the papers in front of him.

"Most of the school wants to ask what's going on out of curiosity," Neji said flatly. "You aren't someone who would lower yourself enough to say something if you didn't have another reason. Stop lying."

"We can tell, you know," Tenten said casually. "Part of our training and all. Right, Lee?" Lee nodded solemnly. Snape glared at the students, instinctively flinching backwards when Thunder suddenly leapt onto his desk.

"What is he doing?" Snape asked flatly as the kitten began to paw through the papers. Tenten grinned sheepishly.

"Looking for my essay. Guess he found out that I wanted it." Thunder found it and hopped back off of the desk, trotting proudly up to Tenten. "I thought he scared you," She said to the kitten.

"**But you wanted the paper!**" Thunder said, tail waving happily.

"Alright, alright," She lifted her kitten. "I got an 'A'. Neji, is that good? I can't remember how this grading system works,"

"A stands for Acceptable, Tenten," Neji said. He looked up at Snape. "Do you have ours?" The professor glared at him, but held the papers up. Okaasan swooped in and took them both from his hand, dropping them in front of Neji. Neji handed Lee's paper to him and began to look over his own work.

"What did you get?" Tenten stood on her tiptoes to look over Neji's shoulder. "What does 'O' stand for?"

"Outstanding," Lee filled in.

"Oh, of course Neji's perfect again," Tenten sulked. "Lee?"

"A. I must use my YOUTHFUL-!"

"NO!" Tenten whacked Lee with a textbook. Neji glanced over at Snape, who was watching them incredulously.

"And you three are professionals?" He asked.

"Of course," Tenten replied cheerfully. "Born and raised," She perched on her desk.

"Don't sit on the desk." Snape ordered. Tenten scowled.

"Why not? No other kids are here,"

"Get off the desk, Tenten," Neji said, flipping through his book. Grumbling, the girl obeyed. She chose instead to turn a chair around and sit on it backwards, resting her chin on the headrest.

"When does class start?" Tenten asked, sounding bored.

"Not for ten more minutes," Lee said.

"Why are you three even here so early?" Snape asked suspiciously.

"Too noisy and bright upstairs," Neji said. "It made my head hurt." He gestured vaguely toward the swollen chakra veins around his eyes, and Snape nodded understanding.

"That happened yesterday?"

"Well, I didn't have these last class, did I?" Neji asked flatly. Snape scowled at him.

"So what happened?"

"Please. Lupin can tell you what happened. You want to know why it happened," Neji snorted. He stroked Okaasan's head as he watched Snape shrewdly.

"Fine, I'll humor you. I want to know why it happened. You're not willing to tell me, though," Snape eyed Neji cautiously.

"Now who said anything about that?" Neji asked. He sat down, every movement displaying smug arrogance and total control of the situation.

"What do you want in return?" Snape asked. He had put the essays down now, full attention on Neji.

"I want a few things," Neji began, "Firstly, I want a promise that none of this goes anywhere but to Dumbledore," He waited until Snape nodded before continuing. "I want information on any and all secret passages that you know of in this castle. I know there are some in a place like this, so don't even try to deny it." Snape looked as if he had just swallowed something nasty, but he nodded again. "Lastly, I want constant news on everything that any Slytherins do for the rest of the year. Gossip, rule breaking, bragging, all of it." Neji narrowed his gaze. "Deal?" Snape scowled, glaring at the boy.

"Fine. Now tell me what happened,"

"My curse mark activated because the boggart, in the form of my younger cousin, carried out my worst nightmare and tried to kill me," Neji said, sounding tired as he perched on the same desk he had kicked Tenten off of a few minutes previously.

"What is your curse mark?" Snape asked. Neji's exhausted expression turned into something positively sadistic.

"I did not include an explanation of my curse seal as part of our bargain. I told you what happened, you owe me information on the secret passages and on the Slytherins for the rest of the year," Snape glared at the ninja, who smirked right back, slipping off of the desk as the first student walked in. Soon enough, the rest of the students arrived, and class started.

"Snape's in a particularly nasty mood today," Harry whispered after a few minutes, "Did one of your do something?" Tenten and Lee shot looks at Neji, who was trying to calculate the proper amount of rat spleen for his potion. Neji scowled at them.

"He'll get over it. Tenten, I need your silver knife. Don't throw it this time,"

ENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTER

A/N: So…same drill. Read and review.


	10. A Lull

A/N: Um…hi. It's been awhile. Yesh. So, uh…yeah. Forgive me? And many thanks to **-'-Hyper-'-Child-'-4Eva-'- **for kicking my lazy butt back into gear. For anyone who's waited all this time, I love you too! (hugs you all) Onwards now! (It's certainly been long enough).

"English"

"_Ninja Language_"

Oh yeah, I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. (glares at rejoicing characters)

BEGINBEGINBEGINBEGINBEGIN

Neji was listening to Ron and Hermione bickering and mentally comparing them to Lee and Tenten when his first report from Snape arrived. It had been delivered by a large raven that had given Neji a dirty look as it dropped the envelope on his lap. Okaasan hissed at the raven from Neji's shoulder. The raven squawked at her and flew out the window.

"What's a raven doing in the Gryffindor common room?" Harry asked, walking down from his dorm with a textbook to try and do some homework.

"Delivering a letter," Neji replied flatly. It had taken Snape longer than expected to send the report, almost a week since the deal had been made.

"Who has a raven instead of an owl?" Harry asked, sitting on the couch beside Neji. Neji simply shrugged. Tenten and Lee started arguing. "Do they do that often?"

"You should know by now. Yes," Neji leaned over to read the start of Harry's essay. It almost made him cringe. It was entirely obvious that Hermione wrote many of Harry's essays for him, or at least edited them.

"Am I the only one that thinks that it's odd how Tenten and Lee and Hermione and Ron act almost exactly alike sometimes?"

"You're not. Tenten, textbooks are not to be used as weapons," Neji raised his voice to make sure that Tenten heard him. He received a dismissive wave of her hand. "Tenten," His tone grew sharper.

"I heard you, Neji. I'm not deaf," As if to contradict this point, she whacked Lee on the head one final time with the textbook and resumed doing her homework.

"They always do that?" Harry asked skeptically, wondering how Lee could still be alive if Tenten did that every day.

"Yes," Okaasan lowered her head and began to run her beak through Neji's hair, chirring deep in her throat. Neji reached up and gently pushed her away, earning a squawk and a bloody finger. "Stop that," He glared. She hissed. Neji returned to his work as if nothing had happened. Harry inched away slightly. Neji and the others were creepy even when they weren't angry at him. "I can tell what you're doing," Neji said flatly.

"Ah," Harry flushed slightly.

"It's a good idea," Neji continued. Harry stared at him. "A little caution never went amiss," Tenten snickered, but fell silent when Neji glared at her. Thunder, who had been occupying himself by chasing Tenten's quill across the parchment as she wrote, stopped and jumped onto Ron's lap, ignoring the yelp that followed. Tenten looked up.

"Thunder, what are you doing?" Ron gave a particularly girly shriek as the kitten leapt for his pocket, swiping at the rat inside. Tenten snatched her kitten before Ron could swat him. "Thunder! I told you not to do that!"

"**It smells weird, though.**" Thunder protested, squirming in Tenten's strong grip.

"I don't care if it smells weird! No eating pets!"

"Will you put that thing in a cage already?!" Ron demanded, "Scabbers is already sick!"

"Well…he smells weird!" Tenten shot back, storming over to her books and resuming her homework. She dropped Thunder in Neji's lap on the way by, purely to see Neji's reaction. He glared at her, gently shoving Thunder off of his book. The kitten squeaked and stalked off, hopping onto Hermione's lap and settling down with a huff.

"What is he…?" Hermione asked confusedly.

"He's sulking." Tenten explained without looking up from her work. Thunder huffed again.

"So you're not going to do anything about the fact that it tried to maim me?" Ron demanded.

"Thunder's a he, and he tried to maim your rat. And no." Ron settled back to sulk, but gave another girly shriek as Crookshanks appeared out of nowhere and tackled him, trying to grab hold of the quivering lump in his pocket.

"Get this thing off of me!" Ron yelped. Neji grabbed Crookshanks by the scruff of his neck and dragged the hissing cat onto his own lap.

"Stop that," Neji scolded, aiming it half at Ron and half at the still-struggling cat. Crookshanks stilled, but Ron continued to grumble.

"Be careful with Crookshanks," Hermione said nervously.

"He's fine," Neji said dismissively. Crookshanks hopped off of the couch and stalked away, tail lashing angrily at being deprived of his prey.

"Why can't you people keep your cats locked up?" Ron demanded.

"Because you don't cage cats," Tenten informed him. "You cage rats," She and Ron glared at each other.

"Tenten, I believe that it might be time to change the subject," Lee whispered into Tenten's ear, subtly gesturing to Neji, who was tensing almost imperceptibly.

"Hey, Neji, check this, will ya?" Tenten rolled her homework up and threw it to Neji, who caught it effortlessly. He opened it and read one sentence before tossing it back.

"I'm not magic, Tenten. Rewrite it, decently this time,"

"But…you are magic," Lee objected.

"_Don't start,_" Neji snapped.

"_Something wrong?_" Tenten asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"_Headache._" Neji admitted.

"_Want me to help?_" Tenten offered.

"_Not until they're not watching,_" Neji sighed. Okaasan began to run her beak through his hair, and he relaxed slightly.

"_Are you sure?_" Tenten asked hesitantly.

"_Positive._" Neji said firmly.

"_Really? Neji, you look ill,_" Lee said concernedly.

"_I'm just tired._"

"_If you insist,_" Tenten looked at her homework. "So, what's wrong with this?"

"Start with the first sentence," Neji said. Tenten glared at him.

"What did you all just say…never mind," Ron said hastily after being glared at by everyone but Lee, who was intensely focused on the textbook in front of him.

"Good, you're learning," Neji commented without looking up from his work. Ron looked vaguely offended, but managed to keep himself silent. For him, this was a major accomplishment. Thunder, still curled in Hermione's lap, purred his approval.

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" Ron asked after some silence. There was no response. He began to grumble to himself as he worked. Hermione looked over at Ron's work.

"You and Tenten might want to work together. You need to re-write yours too."

"Hermione, can't you just write it for me? Or edit it? You're the one that's good at this stuff!"

"You would use that excuse on all of our homework if you thought I would listen," Hermione shot back, but she sounded amused.

"Please, 'Mione? I can't write it again!" Ron begged, holding his homework out to Hermione.

"Ron, I don't have time! Besides, if I wrote your paper, I'd have to write Harry's too, and look at what I have to finish!" She gestured to the massive piles of textbooks that surrounded her. "I'll never get this done in time!"

"Then why did you take on so many classes?" Tenten asked practically. She ignored the glare from Hermione that followed.

"You're going to finish it, Hermione. You're perfect at school, remember?" Harry said reassuringly. Hermione looked up at him, eyes wide with panic.

"I'm not perfect and I can't finish! I still have to do Transfiguration, Potions, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures!"

"What have you already finished?" Lee asked, finally looking up from his essay. Hermione flipped through her papers.

"Charms, Divination, Astronomy, and Defense against the Dark Arts," She said tiredly. Neji sighed. He knew he would regret saying this later…

"Give me what you've already finished. I'll edit it," Hermione's eyes lit up.

"Y…You will? Oh, that would be so great! I really don't feel that my star charts are quite right, but I don't have time to go over them a third time…here they are," Hermione fished a massive sheath of papers out of her bag, holding them out to Neji. "I owe you so much,"

"Yes, you do," Neji agreed as he began to examine the papers in front of him.

"Wait, you'll edit her papers, but not mine? I'm your teammate!" Tenten protested.

"Yes, and you're not trying," Neji replied, eyes locked on Hermione's work. "So I'm not editing,"

"Neji, please?" Tenten whined.

"No," Tenten huffed slightly, looking remarkably like Thunder as she rummaged through her bag to find some more parchment.

"Jerk,"

"So I've been told," Neji unrolled Hermione's homework a little more, involuntarily raising an eyebrow when he saw both how small her handwriting was and how much of it there was. He knew he would regret this…

"How does it look?" Hermione asked worriedly, as she took a moment to peer at Neji over her pile of textbooks.

"Fine," Neji replied easily. He pulled his quill out and began making some minor corrections. "Much better than either of theirs," He gestured to Lee and Tenten, who apparently didn't feel very insulted by this comment. It was more than likely that they were simply used to it by now.

"Oh…thank you?" Hermione shot Tenten a confused glance, and received a reassuring nod in return.

"Neji, if you have a moment, could you look at this for me?" Lee asked, looking unnaturally serious. Neji nodded and took Lee's essay to examine it. It was a refreshing break from the density of Hermione's writing.

"Yes, it's fine," He handed it back to Lee, ignoring the death glare from Tenten.

"Oh, thank you, my Youthful teammate!" Lee beamed at Neji, and was not at all upset when Neji waved his hand dismissively in Lee's general direction. Harry began to rub his eyes. It was getting harder and harder to focus on the dream chart that he was supposed to be making for Divination.

"Here. You fell off of the North Tower," Tenten said, leaning over and pointing at a day that Harry hadn't filled in yet. Harry blinked sleepily

"Wha—? Oh, thanks," He began to write it down.

"Or you were eaten by the giant squid," Hermione piped up from behind her wall of textbooks.

"Or you drowned in your bath," Neji commented, scribbling something on Hermione's essay.

"I think Buckbeak maimed me," Ron said thoughtfully.

"You aren't Malfoy. He wouldn't maim you," Neji retorted.

"Yeah, well, Trelawney doesn't know that," Ron muttered. "There, I'm done plotting my death fifty times. Time for bed," He stuffed all of his books and papers into his bag and moved to go upstairs. Hermione looked over at him.

"You haven't finished everything!"

"Yeah, but it's almost midnight, and I'm tired. It's not due tomorrow anyway." Hermione looked as if she was going to object, but she suddenly realized that she had work as well, and returned to it. Harry looked from Ron to Hermione for a moment before he picked up his own stuff and followed.

"How am I going to finish all of this?!" Hermione practically sobbed. Neji sighed and finished editing Hermione's homework before moving to help her with the rest.

"You're going to work." Neji replied flatly. Hermione looked like she was on the verge of hysteria. "Let me see your Arithmancy," She reluctantly handed it over.

"I haven't had time to check it yet…"

"That's what I'm doing. So work," Hermione nodded and returned to her Potions essay.

"_You're being very nice, Neji,_" Tenten remarked.

"_It's hard to guard someone when they're hysterical and stressed from lack of sleep,_" Neji replied, sounding rather tired himself.

"_It is also difficult to guard someone when you are lacking sleep,_" Lee pointed out.

"_I think I'm better at functioning without sleep than she is,_" Neji retorted.

"_Not without sleep and with a headache,_" Neji glared at Tenten and continued to look over Hermione's homework, glaring at the star charts. He agreed with her, there was something off there, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He was about a second from just throwing them across the room when he finally figured out what it was. Hermione had switched a few of the moons of Jupiter. They were the right names, but on the wrong moons.

"I fixed them," Neji said, laying the charts aside. Hermione gave him a grateful look.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Switched some moons," Neji replied, preoccupied with Hermione's Arithmancy.

"I can't believe that I made such a stupid mistake!" Hermione exclaimed, reaching over to inspect the charts herself.

"You're tired. Now keep working,"

"Because that makes sense," Tenten muttered. She yelped as Thunder hopped from Hermione's lap to her shoulder.

"Where is Maito?" Lee asked suddenly, sitting up and looking around.

"Somewhere nearby," Tenten said casually.

"I cannot see him, though…" Lee sounded worried. He put his books down and started to look around.

"**Hey! Kid! Being eaten by a cat here!**" Lee whirled and saw Crookshanks crouched under a chair with something in his mouth. He fairly dove for the cat, scooping Maito out from between Crookshanks' front paws.

"Maito, are you alright?" Lee asked desperately, running his fingers over Maito's shell to find any possible injuries.

"**I'm fine, I'm fine! Just keep me away from that crazy cat!**" Maito said, squirming slightly as he was rolled onto his back so Lee could examine his underbelly. Lee set Maito on top of his head and returned to his work. The turtle pulled all of his limbs into his shell and allowed himself to roll off, landing squarely in Lee's lap before stretching out. "**Much better,**" Lee rubbed the top of his head with one finger.

"I am glad that you are comfortable," Lee said happily. If Maito was a cat, he would have purred at the petting.

"I think…I think that I've done everything that I can do tonight," Hermione said hesitantly, looking at the remaining stack of books.

"Then go to bed. I'll finish checking this," Neji said, writing some minor commentary on Hermione's Charms essay.

"You will? Oh, thank you! I owe you so much!"

"Remember that." Neji ordered. Hermione blinked at him.

"Okay. Thank you, and good night," Hermione packed her books away, scooped Crookshanks up, and headed up to bed.

"Wow, Neji. Since have you been so nice?" Tenten teased.

"Since I could feel the stress radiating off of her from the other side of the couch and I didn't want to deal with her tomorrow,"

"Sounds about right. Want me to deal with your headache now?"

"Please," Tenten smiled and stood, moving behind Neji. Okaasan, still perched on Neji's shoulder, squawked in protest as Tenten brushed her aside.

"Oh, hush. I'm making Neji feel better," Tenten began to finger-comb Neji's hair, smiling as he leaned back into her touch. The more time she spent with Neji, the more bird-like she thought he was. She had discovered awhile ago that 'preening' Neji's hair was enough to ease his throbbing headaches.

"Has your headache eased at all?" Lee asked.

"I just started, Lee!" Tenten laughed.

"Have you finished your homework?" Neji asked, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, it's done, Neji," Tenten said. Lee looked up at Neji.

"I believe that I have finished, if you approve of what I wrote earlier,"

"I do,"

"Then I am finished," Lee packed his books away and claimed a spot on the couch beside Neji. Maito was happily resting on Lee's leg, rubbing his head against the boy's finger. Lee finally got the message and resumed his petting.

"Better?" Tenten asked after awhile. Neji only nodded.

"**Then scratch me!**" Thunder ordered, rubbing his head against her cheek. Tenten laughed and obeyed, rubbing him behind the ears. Thunder purred.

"So what was that letter that came earlier via raven?" Tenten asked as she hopped over the couch and landed on Neji's other side.

"Snape's first report," Neji fished it out of his robes and broke the seal, carefully opening it. He half-expected a curse or something in it, but there was nothing.

"This is quite thorough," Lee commented as he took note of the map that Snape had included.

"It is," Neji agreed. He didn't protest when Tenten resumed finger-combing his hair, even remaining silent when her head fell to his shoulder. When he glanced over, he saw that she was half-asleep.

"Mr. Hyuuga," Team Gai looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing in front of them. "I have been informed that you have been sleeping on the couch instead of in your dormitories,"

"We like to stay together," Tenten said, fully awake now and clinging to Neji's arm. He pried her fingers off, but his gaze stayed locked on Professor McGonagall.

"Technically, it is against the rules to sleep down here."

"People fall asleep here all the time. We wake them up and send them upstairs," Tenten protested.

"Obviously, we are rather lenient with this rule, but you are not supposed to sleep down here every night. Especially because…"

"I'm a girl? We've been sharing beds since we were like…" Tenten thought for a moment.

"About eleven," Lee supplied helpfully.

"Unfortunately, the rule still applies,"

"Who would complain about us anyway? We're not doing anything!" Tenten looked partly-furious and partly on the verge of tears. Neji patted her arm to silence her. Tenten always got more emotional when she was tired.

"I am aware. Calm down, Miss Buki," Professor McGonagall said reassuringly. "I am required to inform you that you must sleep in your dormitories, however, you being who you are, I am not at complete liberty to enforce the rule. I would ask that you at least try and follow it, though."

"And if we refuse?" Neji asked, eyes narrowed.

"Then I am required to give you detention. However, what the detention consists of is of my own discretion."

"Then we refuse," Neji said, turning to making himself more comfortable.

"Detention next Tuesday. I will tell you what exactly it is in the morning. Good night," Professor McGonagall turned and left.

"Are you sure that it was a good idea to refuse her?" Lee asked.

"Because you could fall asleep alone in your bed here?" Neji asked.

"No, I suppose not,"

"Then we're sleeping here."

"Sounds good to me. Scoot," Tenten shoved her teammates over so she had room to lie down. Thunder curled up in the junction of her neck and shoulder, purring. Neji curled up with his head on Tenten's side. Lee draped himself over Neji.

"So we will deal with this in the morning?" Lee asked sleepily.

"Yes," Neji agreed. Tenten resumed playing with his hair.

"Well, good night." She mumbled. No response. When she looked over, both of her teammates were asleep.

ENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTER

A/N: So…review? I dunno how much I like this chapter, it's kinda a filler. But it's an update, right? XD


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